DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 05 June) – At least 23 private higher education institutions (HEIs) in Davao Region are planning to increase their tuition for the school year 2020-2021, Commission on Higher Education (CHED)–XI spokesperson Luis Perez on Wednesday said.
In a virtual presser hosted by the Philippine Information Agency, Perez said these HEIs had submitted their applications last February, or prior to the community quarantines which have stalled the opening of classes.
He said their applications have already been forwarded to the CHED central office for further review.
“Muagi pa sa discussion sa Commission en banc. After sa approval sa Commission en banc, that is the time nga ibalik sa regional office ang application. (It will have to go through the Commission en banc. After the approval of the Commission en banc, that is the time that the applications will be returned to the regional office),” he said.
Perez did not disclose the names of the private HEIs seeking to increase their tuition.
But he pointed out that there are also HEIs in the region that did not apply for tuition hike amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
CHED had earlier told private HEIs in the country to review their plans to apply for higher tuition this year due to the uncertainty that face-to-face classes would be allowed due to the virus threat.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education–XI said only a few private learning institutions have sought a tuition hike for the coming school year compared to the previous years.
DepEd–XI spokersperson Jenielito Atillo said they only have received few applications for tuition fee increase compared to the number of applicants in the previous years.
“We surmise that private schools also deem that this is not the right time for them to seek an increase because everybody is really into some kind of hardship under the present condition,” Atillo said in mixed English and Cebuano. (Warren Elijah Valdez/MindaNews)
