Progressive youth groups led by Kabataan Party-list stormed the office of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in Quezon City to condemn the increasing number of youths deprived of their right to quality and accessible education.

The groups asked the CHED and Aquino administration to exert more political will in refusing proposals from colleges and universities nationwide to increasse tuition and collect higher fees from their students for next school year.

April 1 marked the last day of filing of tuition increase proposals from school owners and administrators.

Pursuant to CHED Memorandum Order No. (CMO) 3, series of 2012, all higher education institutions that plan to increase tuition and other fees for the next academic year submitted proposals to appropriate CHED Regional Offices on or before April 1.

Some 451 colleges and universities nationwide have submitted tuition and other fee hike proposals for AY 2013-2014, including 95 proposals in the National Capital Region and 38 proposals in Western Visayas, according to CHED.

‘Bogus’ consultations

The National Union of Students of the Philippines through its “Tuition Monitor Network”, said it monitored many consultations that it called “bogus” or fake.

Many of these so-called consultations involved “merely informing the students” that there will be a tuition or other fees increase by the next term, said the NUSP.

Last month, NUSP has filed a complaint to CHED against top schools like the University of Sto. Tomas, Adamson University, and the University of the East who conduct “bogus consultations” on tuition increases.

In the said complaint, NUSP also questioned the tuition hike proposals of the following universities, among others:

• University of Sto. Tomas (5-percent tuition hike)
• University of the East-Recto (5-percent tuition hike)
• Lyceum University of the Philippines (5-percent tuition hike)
• University of the East-Caloocan (3.5-percent tuition hike)
• Colegio de San Juan de Letran (8 to 10-percent tuition hike)
• De La Salle University-Araneta (5-percent tuition hike)
• Adamson University (10-percent tuition hike)

“The schools we mentioned in the complaint we filed last month represent only the tip of the iceberg. Many schools not covered by our monitoring, especially in the provinces, blatantly violate CMO 3 yet are not reported,” said NUSP Spokesperson Sheryl Alapad.

CMO 3 mandates schools planning to increase tuition to conduct consultations among students and other constituents until February 28. Article VI of the said memorandum also states that within 30 days after the consultation period, students can file complaints and grievances for proposed fee increases that did not undergo proper consultation.

Instead of serving as the students’ defender against unabated tuition hikes, CHED – by virtue of its useless tuition policies – has morphed into a collaborator of profiteering schools, Alapad added.

According to Victor Villanueva, NUSP president, CHED should not allow tiered or ladderized tuition increases. The current guideline allows schools to increase tuition for incoming freshmen and transferees without having to undergo consultations.

This ultimately gives schools the autocracy to increase tuition. Such is the case with De La Salle Araneta University (DLSAU), where current students opposed any form of tuition increase. DLSAU, however, intends to impose a 5% tuition increase for incoming freshmen and transferee students.

“CHED’s tuition policies expose the Aquino administration for being inutile in defending the youths’ right to education and perpetuating a system that transmogrifies education into a commodity that most Filipinos cannot afford,” Terry Ridon, Kabataan Party-list president and its first nominee, said.

For stronger regulation

Kabataan Rep. Raymond Palatino reiterated the need for a “strong tuition regulation law” that would give government agencies such as CHED “muscle and teeth” to control tuition and other fees in over 2,000 higher education institutions nationwide.

“The government’s current tuition regulation policy – CHED Memorandum Order 3 – is a toothless paper tiger. While the said policy lays down guidelines for proper consultations regarding fee increases, CHED has no proper mechanism to monitor compliance,” Palatino said.

In 2011, Palatino filed House Bill No. 4286 or the Tuition Regulation Bill which seeks to institutionalize a mechanism for the “strict regulation of the yearly increase of tuition and other fees.”

HB 4286 lays down strict guidelines on the imposition of tuition and other fees. These include rules regarding tuition increases and strict penalty clauses for erring higher education institutions.

Penalties include imprisonment and a fine that could go as much as P5-Million.

“The proposed bill basically empowers CHED to regulate tuition and other fees while also strengthening and institutionalizing the role of students, teachers and parents in the consultation process,” Palatino explained.

While the said bill has been backed by various student governments and organizations nationwide, it failed to get past the committee level during the 15th Congress. The youth solon said that Kabataan Party-list intends to refile the said bill if granted another term in Congress.

“CMO 3 is clearly not enough to stop the unabated tuition and other fee increases in the country. We need strong legislation to reform the deregulated and profit-oriented education system that we have today,” Palatino added.