Youth solon files bill seeking tuition freeze

A partylist solon has filed a bill seeking a three-year moratorium on hikes in tuition and other school-related fees, amid continuing student protest actions against budget cuts in the education sector. The moratorium would cover all basic, technical-vocational and higher education institutions in the country, according Kabataan partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino who filed House Bill 3708 on Tuesday. The government should ensure the “fundamental right of citizens to education through a strict regulation of tuition and other fees, as such is the primary factor in the accessibility of education for all," Palatino said. Systemic decreases in state funding for schools and other education institutions have forced schools to resort to income-generating measures such as tuition hikes to compensate for budget cuts, he explained. In his August 24 address to Congress, President Benigno Aquino III said that his administration was “gradually reducing the subsidy to SUCs to push them toward becoming self-sufficient and financially independent, given their ability to raise their [own] income." Aquino was referring to the country’s 112 state universities and colleges (SUCs), which in past decades had been fully or mostly dependent on state funding, but have started to tap into other sources of revenue, including tuition increases. The Aquino administration allocated a budget of P23.4 billion for the SUCs in 2011, a figure 1.7 percent lower than the P23.8 billion budget for SUCs in 2010. The Aquino administration also slashed the 2011 budget of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) by 33 percent, bringing it down to P1.69 billion from P2.54 billion this year. The CHED budget item with the largest cut was the fund for college scholarships, reduced from P1.15 billion in 2010 to P501 million next year. In a statement, Kabataan Partylist said that the moratorium bill is part of a “three-pronged measure" to reform the education sector. Later, the party list also plans to file a “tuition regulation bill," and then the Education Bill of 2010. The third bill, effectively a new national education act, would amend in totality the existing education laws in Batas Pambansa 232, or the Education Act of 1982, the partylist representative said. Under the Education Act of 1982, “our education system has become increasingly market-oriented instead of progressive, colonial instead of nationalist and fascist instead of democratic," said Palatino. Cost of education The national average of the tuition rate in private colleges and universities has almost doubled over the past nine years, from P257.41 per unit in 2001 to P501.22 per unit in 2010, according to the youth partylist group. In the National Capital Region (NCR), the average rate of P439.59 per unit in 2001 has increased to P980.54 per unit in 2010, stated the partylist group. Based on those calculations, the average NCR college student with a normal academic load pays at least P20,000 in tuition and other fees per semester. “The impetus behind the unbounded increase of school tuition rates nationwide has been more for profit than for service," said Palatino. The Education Act of 1982 deregulated private education institutions, allowing them to determine their own rate of tuition and other school fees or charges. Kabataan Partylist’s tuition moratorium bill provides an exemption for private educational institutions. Private schools may apply for an increase in tuition or other school fees for a semester, provided that it incurred “substantial financial losses on the year preceding the application for exemption," stated the bill. However, the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU) has stated that they are against a moratorium on tuition increases. “It’s counterproductive," said PACU executive director Gregorio Pascua. “We have to provide quality education, and that does not come cheap." Instead of imposing regulations, the government should “let market forces prevail," said Pascua. Aside from other costs, private schools must also respond to the calls of teachers and other personnel for salary increases, he added. Teacher and student welfare The youth partylist’s bill states that public and private educational institutions will be barred from refusing to grant increases in teachers’ salaries, among other benefits, within the period of the moratorium "solely based on the moratorium as justification." “A common tack of many school owners is to pit the interest of teachers and students against each other," said the youth partylist in a statement, adding that “teachers and students alike do not often benefit from the incremental proceeds of tuition hikes." The bill also seeks to audit all educational institutions to verify whether the income from tuition increases over the past decade has actually augmented the salaries of teachers. By law, 70 percent of tuition increases must go to the salaries of teachers. Palatino said that the primary purpose of school funds should be “better wages and the improvement of school facilities and student services," not just “profit for school owners." Nationwide strikes Meanwhile, the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) said that universities are planning to stage “strikes" in the days leading to December 1, when the national budget for 2011 is set to be approved in a bicameral conference at the Senate. Students, faculty, and other employees of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) had staged a strike last Friday, halting university operations in protest against education budget cuts.
The University of the Philippines, which had its budget cut down from P6.9 billion in 2010 to P5.25 billion in 2011, is planning to stage its own strike on November 25-26, said UP Student Regent Jaqueline Eroles. In a statement, the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges called on SUCs to stage strikes against the budget cut. The biggest of these strikes is scheduled to be held on December 1 in front of the Senate. (See: Students storm Senate over budget cut on state colleges, universities)—JV, GMANews.TV