MANILA, Philippines -- More than 50 private elementary schools in Metro Manila are seeking to increase their tuition when the school year opens in June, the Department of Education (DepEd) said Thursday.
Teresita Domalanta, DepEd’s regional director for Metro Manila, said as of Thursday, a week before the May 15 deadline, 53 schools have filed petitions for tuition increases.
Domalanta could not say, however, how many secondary schools have filed similar petitions, saying DepEd personnel were still updating the applications.
Last year, the DedEd’s National Capital Region office gave 48 elementary schools the go-signal to raise fees. There are around 1,000 private elementary and secondary schools in Metro Manila.
Domalanta said most of the petitions sought increases of between 8 and 10 Percent.
“We expect an increase in that range since the school owners know that any increase beyond that would result in a decline in their enrolment,” Domalanta said. “They understand that life is hard right now and that they won’t increase the tuition and other fees too much.”
DepEd allows schools to raise their tuition as long as the bulk of the new revenues, about 70%, goes to the improvement of school facilities and equipment. The rest is divided between textbook purchases (20%) and salary raises for teachers (10%.)
Domalanta said the agency would strictly monitor schools’ compliance with the rule. “They should show in detail where and how they will use the increase. They should also consult first with the teachers and other education stakeholders,” Domalanta said.
She said the schools that have applied for tuition increases included Saint Theresa’s College (5%), Saint Joseph College (10%), Trinity University of Asia (8%) and Ateneo de Manila (6%).
In Manila, the Malate Catholic School is seeking to increase tuition by 11%. The elementary divisions of the University of the East and San Juan de Letran both asked to be allowed to increase tuition by 10%.
A few schools such as Las Piñas College, Batasan Chunan Christian School, and the Southeastern College sought 25%, 26%-29%, and 36%-47%, hikes respectively, the DepEd said.
