SC junks petition vs hikes in tuition

MANILA, Philippines - There is no more legal obstacle to the raising of tuition and other fees by more than 300 schools across the country for the current academic year, after the Supreme Court (SC) junked yesterday a petition against tuition adjustments filed by youth groups.

SC spokesman Theodore Te announced in a press conference that the justices decided to dismiss outright the petition of Kabataan party-list and other groups both on technical and substantive grounds.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) earlier approved the requests for tuition hikes from 354 private colleges and universities nationwide. A total of 451 schools out of 1,683 educational institutions made the request.

Te explained that the petitioners failed to exhaust all available administrative remedies before elevating the case to the high court.

The court, he said, strictly follows a rule allowing administrative agencies under the executive branch to carry out their functions and discharge their responsibilities within their specialized areas of competence.

The groups immediately filed the petition without first appealing the CHED order. For the SC, there was “no actual case” and that the petition was premature.

On the merits of the case, the high court also ruled that CHED did not abuse its discretion contrary to allegation of petitioners.

In their petition filed last May 29, the groups asked the SC to stop the CHED and some universities from implementing the increases for the current academic year, through the issuance of a temporary restraining order.

They also asked the high tribunal to declare unconstitutional Section 42 of the Education Act of 1982 and CHED Memorandum Order No. 3 series 2012, used to justify the order.

Kabataan party-list president lawyer Terry Ridon led the petitioners.

Despite the SC order, student militants vowed yesterday to continue pushing for a moratorium on tuition hikes.

National Union of Students of the Philippines president Victor Villanueva said after losing in the SC, they would bring their campaign to Congress.

“We will continue the campaign to push for a legislated tuition regulation and moratorium policy in Congress through sustained mass actions by youth groups nationwide,” Villanueva said in a statement.

CHED chair Patricia Licuanan stressed they were always trying to strike a balance between ensuring access to higher education and the right of private schools to raise fees to sustain operations.

Section 42 of Batas Pambansa 232 or the Education Act of 1982 states that “each private school shall determine its rate of tuition and other school fees or charges... subject to rules and regulations” promulgated by concerned government agencies such as CHED.

CHED requires higher education institutions to allocate 70 percent of the increase in tuition for salaries of school personnel, 20 percent for facilities improvement and operations and 10 percent for profit if the school is a stock corporation. The body also requires schools to hold public consultations to explain any move to raise tuition.

The Philippine Association of Private Schools, Colleges and Universities said students and parents were consulted on the increase. With Helen Flores