2-year ban sought on tuition hikes

NATIONALIST People's Coalition (NPC) Representative Sherwin Gatchalian has filed a bill that will impose a two-year moratorium on tuition and other fee increase starting next year if enacted into a law.

House Bill 5892, also known as the "Tuition Fee Moratorium Act," seeks to give parents reprieve as the K to 12 program, which provides an additional two years to the basic education curriculum, is set to be fully implemented in the next school year.

Gatchalian said the full implementation of the K to 12 program will result in a lengthened program of basic education.

"This means that parents will be responsible for paying for an additional two years of school fees," he said.

Gatchalian, a majority member for the House committees on basic education and culture and on higher and technical education, said the high cost of education is a key factor on why children leave school, based on the Annual Poverty Indicators Survey.

"One of the primary factors concerning the right to education is its accessibility. Currently, the high cost of education has turned this right into a burdensome privilege for many poor and middle-class Filipino families who struggle to pay for tuition and other school fees," he said.