Cost of Private Tertiary Education

• The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has approved the requests of 313 private higher education institutions (HEIs) to increase their tuition and other school fees for school year 2015-2016.

• The increase is at a nationwide average of P165.45 (6.48%) per unit.

• National Capital Region has the most number of schools (51) that will increase fees, followed by Calabarzon and Davao Region or Southern Mindanao (33 schools each), Central Visayas (32), and Central Luzon (31).

• The Commission did not allow schools in Eastern Visayas to increase fees, as the region is still undergoing rehabilitation in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan).

• CHED cited Memorandum Order 3, s. 2012 in approving the increase in the tuition and other school fees. The Commission took into consideration the following factors:

• Regional inflation rate• Financial standing of the institution• Financial capacity of the general studentry• Impact of force majeure or calamities• Quality track record of the school• Mission and vision of the institution

• "CHED ensures that HEIs meet the guidelines provided by law, especially the requirement of consultation, the allocation of tuition fees, and strict adherence with the processes that seek to make tuition and other school fee increases transparent, reasonable, and affordable," CHED said.

INFOGRAPHIC: Tuition per unit of Metro Manila

universities

 

Tuition of freshman’s undergraduate degree program (per unit) in various schools in Metro Manila

Ateneo de Manila University P3,276.55

University of Asia and the Pacific P 3,056

De La Salle University P2, 363

Mapua Institute of Technology P 1,545

University of the Philippines P1,500

Far Eastern University P1,410

University of Santo Tomas P1,348

Technological University of the Philippines P150

Polytechnic University of the Philippines P12

• As tertiary education costs higher every year, tuition per unit at state-run Polytechnic University of the Philippines  has been unchanged, making the university the cheapest school in the country.

• For more than 30 years, PUP charges their students P12 per unit with a maximum of total fees of P1,000 every semester.

Low Priority Given to Tertiary Education

• many impoverished Filipino families remain unable to send their children to school and afford them a proper college education

• Even with the government's numerous student financial assistance programs, a recent study commissioned by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on the different assistance programs being implemented revealed that the student financial assistance programs (STUFAPS) are meager and fragmented.

• The study showed that STUFAPs have assisted only around 60,000 students in 2011 or about 2% of approximately 2.7 million students.

• National government spending on STUFAPs mostly goes to education, accounting for about 62 % of the budget and only 23 % and 15% go to higher education and technical-vocational education, respectively.

• Moreover, the study uncovered that these STUFAPs are increasingly being enjoyed by student beneficiaries from higher income families, therefore defeating the purpose of STUFAPs to assist students who are in fact in dire need of financial assistance.

• The study further showed that the reason behind low college students enrollment and completion rates among the poor and near poor is due to their incapacity to pay for the initial entrance fees and expenses required by higher education institutions (HEls), therefore stifling these students' opportunity to even begin their higher education career.

Financial assistance for students

• Students in need of financial assistance can apply for CHED's Student Financial Assistance Programs, which has 123,882 slots for school year 2015-2016. The slots amount to more than P1.5 billion ($33.7 million).

• More than 40,000 students under the PantawidPamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) who are enrolled in selected state universities and colleges will also be provided financial assistance under the Expanded Student Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation, which has a budget of P2.5 billion ($56.14 million).

• CHED also called for the passage of the proposed Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Higher and Technical Education or UniFAST bill, which seeks to "harmonize, reform, strengthen, expand, rationalize, and re-focus" all ongoing student financial assistance programs of the government.

Thank you!GOD BLESS!!!

-Cristina Marie Juanzo