30 West Visayas schools to hike tuition

ILOILO CITY—At least 30 schools in Western Visayas will increase their tuition and other fees next school year, according to the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd).

The schools that have submitted their letter of intent to the CHEd to reveal plans to raise rates include 12 in Negros Occidental, 11 in Iloilo, three in Aklan, two in Guimaras and one each in Capiz and Antique.

In Negros Occidental, the schools include the Binalbagan Catholic College, Colegio de San Agustin-Bacolod, Colegio de Santa Rita, Kabankalan Catholic College, La Consolacion College, Mount Carmel College, Southland College, Riverside College, University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, University of St. La Salle, VMA Global College and West Negros University.

In Iloilo, the schools are Central Philippine University, Iloilo State College of Fisheries (ISCF)-Main, ISCF-Barotac Nuevo, ISCF-Dingle, ISCF-Dumangas, ISCF-San Enrique, Saint Therese College (STC) MTC-Tigbauan, STC MTC-Molo, STC MTC-Lapaz, St. Paul University Iloilo and University of Iloilo.

The other schools that plan to increase their rates are Aklan College, Garcia College of Technology and Aklan Polytechnic (Aklan); Filamer Christian College (Capiz), Guimaras State College (GSC)-Main and GSC-Mosqueda (Guimaras).

Alan Lena, CHEd coordinator for tuition and other school fees, said the schools were required to submit by April 1 specific rates that they planned to implement next school year.

Last year, 20 schools in Western Visayas increased their tuition and other school fees averaging 8.4 percent and ranging from 4 to 15 percent.

Student groups and councils in Panay on Wednesday launched a “tuition monitor” campaign to keep track of school-fee increases.

The student groups said they would gather data on specific cases involving questionable fees, “fake” consultations and other irregularities in the implementation of the increase.

They are also calling for a moratorium on school-fee increase.

“The unbearable increase of oil prices and basic commodities make it more imperative to stop the increase in the cost of education to enable parents to continue sending their children to school,” said Karlo Mikhail Mongaya, regional coordinator of the Kabataan Partylist.

The CHEd, while exercising regulatory powers over institutions of higher education, does not exercise powers to stop tuition increases.