CHED OKs 6.48% Tuition, Other School Fees Increase to 313 HEIs

(PNA)– The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) approved the applications of 313 private higher education institutions (HEIs) for increase of tuition and other school fees for School Year 2015-2016.

Across all regions, the average percent increase is 6.48 percent which means 283 HEIs or 16 percent total of private HEIs will increase tuition fees while 212 or 12.60 percent will increase other school fees, according to CHED chairperson Dr Patricia Licuanan on Tuesday .

There is an average increase of 6.17 percent or the equivalent of Php29.86 per unit while for other school fees the increase is 6.55 percent or the equivalent of Php135.60. These figures are down from last year’s Php35.66 or 8.13 percent for tuition and Php141.55 or 7.97 percent for other school fees.

In the regions with the highest number of HEIs, the average per unit increase in tuition is Php32.34 or 4.52 percent for NCR, Php37.36 or 5.26 percent for Region IV-A, and Php35.60 or 6.87 percent for Region III.

For other school fees, the increases are Php34.79 or 4.01 percent for NCR, Php501.67 or 5.26 percent for Region IV-A and Php556.13 or 6.65 percent for Region III.

There were no applications for increase in other school fees in Regions II, V, VII and X.

There were no approved increases in Yolanda affected Region VIII.

CHED said that In deciding on the reasonableness of tuition and other school fees, the Commission adhered to CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 3, series of 2012 or the “Enhanced Policies, Guidelines and Procedures Governing Increases in Tuition and Other School Fees, Introduction of New Fees, and for Other Purposes.

This takes into account the following factors: regional inflation rate; financial standing of the institution; financial capacity of the general studentry; impact of force majeure or calamities; quality track record of the school; and the mission and vision of the institution.

CHED claims its approach to the issue of tuition is wholistic—that in the light of contending concerns and interests in society, there is need to balance access issues with sustainability of educational institutions. For its part, CHED ensures that HEIs meet the guidelines provided by law, especially the requirement of consultation, the allocation of tuition fees, and strict adherence with the processes that seek to make tuition and other school fee increases transparent, reasonable and affordable.

In order to address the issues of higher education financing, access to affordable education, and viability of HEIs, CHED is working on a framework on tuition fee regulation. This year it strictly applied an “education deflator” which measures the average cost of providing education services. This framework will be further strengthened and applied in the coming years to guide the Commission.

For school year 2015-2016, the Commission has programmed 123,882 Student Financial Assistance Programs (StuFAPs) slots amounting to more than PhP1.5 billion. This is triple the slots provided for last year.

CHED StuFAPs support deserving students enrolled in public and private HEIs.

In addition, it has provided financial assistance to more than 40,000 students enrolled in selected State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) under the Expanded Student Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (SGP-PA) with a budget of P2.5 billion.

These students belong to the poorest of the poor families identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) under its Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

CHED said it strongly supports the passage of the proposed Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Higher and Technical Education or UniFAST Bill which has recently passed second reading in the Senate.

UniFAST seeks to harmonize and unify government scholarship and grants-in-aid programs to promote equity and rationalized access to quality higher and technical education among those in need. (PNA) FPV/LOR