Tuition hike by private schools: No appeal from Palace

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang has not issued any appeal to private schools to defer tuition hikes as of yesterday, even as it stressed that the government has programs that could assist students with financial constraints.

Asked whether the government will urge private schools not to raise tuition to help poor students, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said: “We will leave that to the discretion of the private universities.”

“But as far as the SUCs (state universities and colleges) are concerned, they have to undergo a process with the CHED (Commission on Higher Education),” she added.

Valte reiterated that CHED has been instructed to be very strict in screening the applications for tuition increases to make sure that these comply with existing regulations.

“With regard to state universities and colleges, the government is trying to the best of its ability to make sure that increases are reasonable and in accordance with the rules that are set out by CHED,” Valte said.

“For those students with limited capacity to pay tuition, the government is expanding its student financial assistance program,” she added.

A total of 353 private universities and colleges have filed petitions to raise their tuition and other fees this coming school year.

Most of the educational institutions seeking the increase are from Metro Manila with 74 schools, followed by Calabarzon with 46, Central Luzon (41), Davao region (33), Western Visayas (25), Ilocos (23), Central Visayas (21), Northern Mindanao (19), Bicol (18), SOCCSKSARGEN (12), Cordillera Administrative Region (11,) Cagayan Valley (9), Mimaropa (9), Zamboanga Peninsula (6) and Caraga (6).

None of the 81 private colleges in Eastern Visayas, the area hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda last November, applied for tuition hike.

Under the law, each private school shall determine its tuition rate and other school fees or charges subject to rules and regulations promulgated by the government.

A total of 354 out of 1,683 private higher education institutions were allowed to implement hikes in tuition and other fees last year.

The average tuition increase per unit for school year 2013-2014 was P37.45 or 8.5 percent nationwide.

Activists said the looming upward adjustments in tuition rates would pose additional burden to students and parents, especially those who belong to low-income families.

Private schools, however, justified the increases by saying these are needed to support their operations and to pay teachers’ salaries.

Student loan

Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo, chairman of the House committee on higher and technical education, urged the Senate yesterday to immediately pass the proposed Voluntary Student Loan Program by Private Banks, saying the bill is urgently needed to allow more students to cope up with the rising costs of college education.

“We are appealing to the Senate to give the highest priority to the passage of the bill, considering that it has already been approved by the House on third and final reading,” Romulo said.

“The program is one sure way for us to keep more students in college, and hopefully produce more graduates, notwithstanding the ever-increasing cost of post-secondary education,” he said.

He made the statement shortly after the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) revealed that a total of 353 private universities and colleges have filed petitions to increase their tuition and other fees this coming school year.

Last year, CHED authorized 354 out of 1,683 private higher institutions of learning to raise their tuition and miscellaneous fees.

“The proposed Voluntary Student Loan Program by Private Banks, or House Bill 3617, will extend new financial incentives so that private banks may be encouraged to grant educational loans to college or post-secondary technical-vocational institute students,” the lawmaker said.

Under the program, an eligible student may obtain a low-cost bank loan to pay for the tuition and miscellaneous fees of the college where the borrower has been accepted, to include adjustments in case of any increase in said charges.

The loan shall likewise include an amount for the cost of attendance, covering the student’s necessary expenses for books, transportation, board and lodging, and a reasonable allowance for projects and other school requirements.

The loan would have an effective interest rate pegged to the 91-day Treasury bill rate at the time of the release of the loan. The benchmark T-bill rate stood at 1.44 percent per annum as of last week.

The bank could apply an add-on three to five percent annual interest rate.

However, instead of the borrower paying for the extra interest expense, the lender may claim the corresponding amount as deduction from gross income for tax purposes, thus the incentive for the bank. With Paolo Romero