Iloilo City — Thirty-eight colleges and universities in Western Visayas plan to increase tuition and other fees next school year, according to a report of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd).
The schools that have submitted letters of intent to the CHEd disclosing plans to raise fees as of March 5 include 17 in Negros Occidental, 16 in Iloilo, two each in Aklan and Antique and one in Capiz.
In Negros Occidental, the schools include the AMA Computer College-Bacolod, Bago City College, Binalbagan Catholic College, Cabarrus Catholic College, Colegio de Santa Rita, Colegio de Santa Rita-Victorias, Kabankalan Catholic College, La Consolacion College, La Consolacion College-Isabela, Mount Carmel College, Southland College, STI College-Bacolod, Riverside College, University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, University of St. La Salle, VMA Global College and West Negros University.
In Iloilo, the schools are ABE International Business College, ACLC College, AMA Computer College-Iloilo, Cabalum Western College, Central Philippine University, Colegio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, Colegio de San Jose, Iloilo Doctors College-College of Medicine, John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University-Arevalo, John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University-Molo, Saint Therese College (STC) MTC-Tigbauan, STC MTC-Molo, STC MTC-Lapaz, STI College-Iloilo, University of San Agustin and Western Institute of Technology.
The other schools that plan to increase fees are Northwestern Visayan Colleges and STI College-Kalibo, both in Aklan; Pandan Bay Institute and St. Anthony’s College in Antique; and the Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion in Capiz.
Militant youth groups in Iloilo decried the planned increases and called for a moratorium on school fee increases.
“We are alarmed by the increasing number of schools with planned school fee increases,” said Charmane Chin, spokesperson of the Kabataan Partylist in Iloilo.
“The yearly torture of students and their parents have only resulted in dropouts and lost hopes and dreams,” Chin said.
She said the government should impose a moratorium on tuition increases and raise its subsidy to education.
The Kabataan and the League of Filipino Students have also launched a tuition-monitor desk to receive reports from students, parents, and other concerned parties on tuition increases in Western Visayas. /INQUIRER