SEVENTY-eight private elementary and secondary schools in Metro Manila are seeking tuition increase this coming school year, the Department of Education (DepEd) said Tuesday.
Rizalino Jose Rosales, Deped-National Capital Region Assistant Regional director, said the number represents 4.03 percent of the 1,937 private elementary and secondary currently operating in the metropolis.
There are 8,177 private elementary and secondary schools nationwide.
“The figure isn’t really that much considering that we have 1,937 private schools, and the number is still much lower compared to last year,” Rosales said in an interview.
Of the 78 schools, 20 are seeking to raise their fees from one to five percent, 49 wants increase from six to 10 percent while nine others are seeking as much as 11 to 15 percent.
Rosales said majority of the private schools apparently heeded the appeal of Education Secretary Mona Valisno cautioning them against tuition hike considering the economic difficulties.
He said school owners also knew that any additional fees would mean lesser number of enrollees as unaffordable tuition fees lead to parents seeking alternatives, such as public schools.
“In time of crisis, the schools will be in a worse position if they increase too much. A smart school is not going to price itself out of the market because the students have alternatives.”
Under current regulations, 70 percent of the increase being sought by the schools goes to the upgrading of teachers salaries while the rest goes for the acquisition of equipment and upgrading of facilities.
Earlier, the Ched said 339 higher education institutions (HEI) including two state universities and colleges are set to raise their fees this school year.
Protests loom
With less than a month before the opening of classes, students groups asked the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) to issue a tuition moratorium against schools that are set to hike their tuition and other fees.
Members of the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) and the Kabataan Party-list marched to the Ched main office in Quezon City to dramatize their call.
“This marks the series of militant actions the youth are determined to do in order to make Ched come to its senses and pass a tuition hike freeze,” said NUSP President Einstein Recedes.
A protest action conducted by various militant student groups at Ched last March turned violent when the protesters tried to force their way resulting to P500,000 worth of damages.
A similar mass action protesting the proposed hike at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) also turned violent with students burned chairs while several others were arrested by the police.
The students also challenged the Commission to release the list of the colleges and universities posting to increase tuition this school year.
Higher literacy rate pushed
In a related development, a lawmaker urged the DepEd and Ched to seek ways to improve the country’s education programs following the continuous decline of Filipinos' literacy rate.
Senator Edgardo Angara said the numbers of pre-literates swelled at over a million, while more than six million are considered functionally illiterate, most are found in indigenous communities.
He noted that the country’s literacy rate rose to 93.5 percent in 1994 from 82.8 percent in 1980.
But due to the low priority on education, the literacy rate fell to what it is today, citing the 88.5 percent rate in 2009.
"This discredits us from climbing up the global competitive index," he warned.
He added that the country's literacy rate, along with our standards of education, is essential indicators of Filipino's capacity to compete with other countries.
The decline can be attributed to the constant rise in population, the lack of education materials, exodus of competent teachers, and absence of progress in school buildings and classrooms.
The outgoing Arroyo administration normally allots around two percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) to education. But the United Nations said at least six percent should be devoted by developing countries like the Philippines.
Aside from these factors, the lack of higher qualifications among teachers has also taken its toll in providing quality education.
"This is a struggle to keep up with international standards in our education system. If we fail to achieve this level of education for our teachers, it is only logical that the country's education system will not progress," Angara said. (AH/Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)