Private schools urged to accept tuition in installment

President Rodrigo Duterte has appealed to private schools to allow tuition payment on a “staggered” basis as families reel from the economic effects of the new coronavirus pandemic.

The President made the call as he endorsed the Department of Education’s (DepEd) proposed “blended” learning methods to enable children to continue their studies despite the community quarantine.

“For those who have really nothing to come up with come payment time, we have the Land Bank (of the Philippines). And kindly listen to rules. Because we are opening the Landbank and you can borrow money to finance the education of your children,” Mr. Duterte said in a televised address on Thursday night.

The state-owned bank recently launched the Landbank Academe (Access to Academic Development to Empower the Masses towards Endless Opportunities) lending program.

The program seeks to boost private schools’ capacity to implement a “study now, pay later” plan for students by allocating P3 billion in credit support to provide continuing education for students.

He reassured the public that the government was placing a “premium on education” even if it was “hard-pressed in our finances.”

In a meeting with Cabinet officials on Thursday night, the President also backed the DepEd’s blended learning for students while face-to-face classes are still suspended.

The DepEd has scheduled the remote enrollment of students in public schools for the month of June.