Ched pleads to private schools not to hike tuition

02/22/2009

Commission on Higher Education (Ched) Chairman Dr. Emmanuel Angeles yesterday reiterated his appeal to private schools not to raise tuition and exercise “social responsibility” in the wake of the global economic slowdown.

Angeles said school owners should understand the plight of parents before they seek to raise their tuition.

He asked the private higher learning institutions (HEIs) intending to increase tuition to first hold a public consultation on the matter, as mandated under Ched guidelines.

He, however, expressed confidence that any tuition hike, if ever one is implemented, would not go beyond five percent.

The Ched recently reversed its policy of imposing a cap on tuition increases and reimplemented its Memorandum Order 13, which outlines the guidelines on tuition increases since 1998.

The Ched comes out with guidelines on tuition and other fees in private schools through memorandum orders or CMOs.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ned Norbeto, vice chairman and chief insight adviser of Mansmith and Fielders Inc., urged the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Association (Cocopea) to set up a “market segment management structure” in dealing with the pending tuition increase for the school year 2009-2010.

In a speech during a recent forum entitled “Global Economic Meltdown: Its Impact on Private Education in the Philippines” at the St. Paul University in Manila, Norberto said it is necessary for Cocopea and other private higher education institutions to reconsider the “consumer coping capabilities” of the Filipino families before making any decision in raising tuition.

“We need a trustworthy basis for continuing to do educating amidst these difficult times. And we can accomplish all of this by having an alternative and complementing macro and micro economic forecasts,” Norberto, who is also the chairman and president of Roberto and Associates Inc., a research and publishing agency, said.

Earlier, the Cocopea’s board urged their member schools not to push through with plans for tuition increase for the coming school year, saying they empathize with the parents amidst the global economic downturn.

But Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) program officer Ines Bansain said the general agreement of Cocopea is to let each school decide on whether to raise its tuition.

“We are currently holding a discussion with our member schools. So far, we are still to decide on the issue, but the general agreement, as of now, is to let them decide individually whether they would increase their fees,” Bansain said.

Cocopea is the country’s largest association of private HEIs. Its members include the CEAP, the Association of Christian Schools, Colleges and Universities, the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities and the Technical-Vocational Schools Association of the Philippines.

Meanwhile, education officials are looking into the possibly of adding one or two more years to the country’s pre-university education program for public and private elementary and secondary schools, the Department of Education (DepEd) has said.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said the idea is aimed at upgrading the program so it can be recognized worldwide.

“Some countries have longer programs and still don’t recognize ours. So we’re studying this plan,” he said on the side of the Kapihan sa Sulo (Hotel in Quezon City) forum yesterday.

The idea is to include a transition period –- known in Germany as the ‘gymnasium’ years –- so students can better prepare for university studies.

Lapus hopes authorities can firm up the proposal next year.

The country’s existing pre-university education program for both public and private schools generally covers six years of primary or elementary education and four years of secondary education.

Elementary school subjects include Mathematics, Science, English, Filipino, Social Studies, the Arts and Physical Education.

Subjects in secondary or high schools include Algebra, Science, English, Filipino, Philippine History, Geometry, Chemistry, Trigonometry, Physics, Literature, Arts and Physical Education.

English is the medium of instruction in most of the schools.

PNA

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