MANILA — Some 500 private elementary and secondary schools were given the green light to increase their tuition rates for School Year 2018 to 2019.
In an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Monday, Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary Tonisito Umali said they have allowed about 500 private schools to raise their tuition fees.
“Six regions have submitted their data. In the National Capital Region alone, more or less 170 to 175 schools have submitted applications to increase their tuition and we approved. The number can still increase since not all regions have reported yet the number of applications that were approved,” Umali said.
He explained that the schools’ applications for tuition increase were approved in accordance with the DepEd guidelines on regulations for private schools in basic education.
“When they file an application, all the paperwork justifying their request for tuition increase and showing that they have complied if they have a previous application that was approved, are submitted,” Umali said.
The schools applying for tuition increase are also required to submit a document specifying the allocation of the tuition hike in the previous year.
“By law and by our DepEd order, rules and regulations, 70 percent should go to the salaries of our teachers, 20 percent for the improvement of their facilities, and the rest may form part of their retained earnings. That structure must be observed,” he said.
Considering the data they have on hand, Umali said the figures he quoted form only 4 percent of the total number of private schools nationwide.
“Traditionally, more or less 10 percent lang naman ang nag-a-apply ng increase kasi alam nila na pag nagtaas sila ng tuition, mababawasan din sila ng mag-aaral (only apply for an increase in tuition fees because they know that they would have less enrollees if they raise their tuition rates),” he said.
DepEd has yet to determine the number of students from private schools who will transfer to public schools this year.
“But right now, if this is an indication, the total number of students we expect to enroll from Kinder to Grade 12, both public and private, is 27.7 million nationwide. Last year was 27 million and the bulk of the increase is the public school system,” Umali said. (PNA)
