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PARENTS
can expect an 8-percent to 10-percent increase in
tuition this school year, according to Julito Vitriolo,
deputy executive director of the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED).
He said
they expect no higher increase, even with the suspension
of their Memorandum 14, s. 2005 and 42 s. of 2006, and
Memorandum 7, series of 2007, which prohibit private
schools from increasing their tuition above the
inflation rate, which was pegged at 6.2 percent in the
memoranda.
Vitriolo
added they also do not see many institutions increasing
their fees, except for about 20 percent of the total
number of colleges and universities.
Vitriolo
said that if schools increase tuition more than what is
expected, they stand to lose many students, so he
believes they would factor in “humanitarian reasons” in
setting their fees.
He said
the CHED records show a major drop in the number of
students enrolled in private schools when fees went up
last year. “Private-sector enrollment dropped 85 percent
compared with the previous year’s drop of 60 percent,
because students transferred to state universities and
colleges owing to the lower tuition. The others simply
dropped out, while others found jobs.”
As a
result, he said, several schools have launched
promotions to attract students, such as a “P500
enrollment bonus or zero interest if paying on
installment. It’s really cutthroat competition out
there, that’s why I don’t think they will increase their
fees.”
The CHED
has issued Memorandum Order 16, which sets the
guidelines in processing applications of
tertiary-education institutions to increase tuition and
other fees for SY 2008-09. The guidelines include the
consultations with all the players involved in the
education sector—parents and students—before any
increase in tuition. |
