MANILA, PHILIPPINES — State universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs) are pushing for an increase in tuition and miscellaneous fees following the lapse of a five-year moratorium last year. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has warned of a “bigger storm” looming as institutions move towards raising their fees.

During a public hearing held by the Senate committee on higher, technical, and vocational education chaired by Senator Francis Escudero, CHED Chairman Prospero de Vera revealed that many SUCs had passed board resolutions to raise tuition rates.

“If you want a bigger headache, I would like to inform you, Mr. Chair, that the five-year moratorium on SUCs and LUCs – that they cannot increase their tuition fee – actually lapsed in 2022. So now, many of the SUCs have already passed board resolutions to increase their tuition rates and they have submitted it to CHED,” said de Vera.

He further explained that CHED’s role is to forward these decisions to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) since CHED does not have the authority to determine reimbursement amounts.

He emphasized that CHED cannot act on the matter without the DBM’s determination of reimbursable amounts.

“So if they send us their decision that they are increasing the tuition fee, we send it to the DBM… because we cannot act on it. We do not know whether it is correct or not because we are not the ones that determine whether these amounts will be reimbursed. So that is the bigger storm coming,” he stated.

The discussion arose as Senator Escudero raised concerns about the lack of clear guidelines on enrollment in SUCs and LUCs. De Vera clarified that the power to determine the number of students admitted to these institutions lies with their respective boards of regents, as mandated by Republic Act 8292.

“It’s really a decision made by the board… So CHED, you know, sent out a memorandum saying you can only increase by two percent, three percent, or four percent, (this) is a decision of the board. So the different boards of the SUCs decided individually how to do it,” De Vera added.

He further emphasized that CHED lacks the legal basis to approve or reject these decisions since they are not involved in reimbursing the funds.

As debates continue on the tuition and miscellaneous fee increases, the Senate and relevant government bodies will work towards finding a balanced approach that ensures access to quality education while addressing the financial needs of educational institutions. – WhatALife!/Jayve

Source: (1)

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