WE call on the national government to stop catering to the demands of capitalist-educators through the voucher system proposed by the private education sector.

In January 2017, the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the Philippines (COCOPEA) submitted its proposed legislation on free private higher education. It asked the government to fund private education through a voucher system amidst the looming implementation of free tuition and other school fees in state universities and colleges (SUCs).

It is not the duty of the government to fill in the pockets of private school owners. Doing so will be a great disservice to the Filipino people for it will just guarantee profit for capitalist-educators who treat students and their families as cash cows.

For so long, providing education in the Philippines is a lucrative venture for business magnates like Henry Sy, Sr. (National University), Lucio Tan (University of the East), Jaime Zobel de Ayala (University of Nueva Caceres), Emilio Yap (Centro Escolar University), Alfonso Yuchengco (Mapúa University), and Lourdes Montinola (Far Eastern University).

They earn millions of pesos in profit through incessant annual tuition hikes and persistent collection of exorbitant, dubious, and redundant miscellaneous fees.

The State should put an end to the annual fees hikes and provide free public higher education by expanding the number of SUCs and providing adequate and quality facilities.--National Union of Students of the Philippines