Tuition hike looms as colleges struggle to survive

MANILA, Philippines — A double whammy of higher tuition and lower enrollment will be hitting the country’s private tertiary education sector this coming school year due to the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said yesterday.

CHED Commissioner Aldrin Darilag enumerated at the hearing of the Senate committee on sustainable development goals, chaired by Sen. Pia Cayetano, the challenges facing private universities and colleges grappling with the prospect of bankruptcy as schools prepare for a new system of instruction for the opening of classes in August or December.

Among the challenges faced by private higher education institutions (HEIs), the official said, are declining enrollment, revenue losses, the need to increase tuition and other fees, displacement or layoff of part-time and non-regular faculty, poor connectivity, preparedness of both faculty and students for flexible and blended learning; and economically disadvantaged students, teachers and other stakeholders.

He said students are among the hardest hit by the pandemic so government agencies must work together to ensure their welfare and continued education.

Darilag mentioned in particular self-supporting students as one of the serious “victims of the social and economic consequences” of COVID-19 who are likely to experience “multiple shocks” because of loss of jobs, stoppage of college education and diminished employment opportunities.

He said the CHED will continue to support the flexible and blended learning modalities in HEIs using both digital and non-digital technology so that face-to-face education can still be pursued subject to health protocols.

Mercelita Jandayan-Labial of the Capitol University, who has been pushing for blended learning for the past several years, stressed the need for stable and fast internet connection in the country.

She said even before the crisis struck, the wide gap between students who are digital-savvy and those who are not was already clearly evident.

The pandemic widened the gap even more as not all HEIs, families and students can afford to invest in such technology or gadgets, she said.

Officials warned at a Senate hearing that enrollment in private and state universities and colleges (SUCs) would likely plunge by as much as 70 percent this coming school year due to economic hardships caused by the pandemic.

CHED chairman Prospero de Vera told the joint hearing of the Senate committees on finance and on economic affairs that private HEIs and SUCs are in urgent need of financial assistance to continue operating and fund the implementation of flexible learning systems for students.

He also said a “tremendous” number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have gone home after losing their jobs “will not have any money for the education of their children when schools open.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto has lamented that around 330,000 teachers in private schools have had their salaries cut off or slashed.

In a statement yesterday, De Vera said CHED has given up more than P15 billion of its budget for 2020 to help the national government in its COVID-19 response.

“CHED’s contribution of P15,317,631,000 is one of the biggest single agency support to the call of President Duterte for the entire nation to raise funds to support mitigating strategies in responding to the present health crisis,” said De Vera.

“CHED is continuously cooperating with the national government’s efforts to ensure the success of the whole-of-government mobilization of assets to overcome this present health crisis,” De Vera said. Rainier Allan Ronda