Youth group hits CHED over soft stance on tuition hikes

MANILA, Philippines – The National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) lambasted the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for its alleged soft stance against schools that illegally imposed tuition fee hikes for academic year 2010-2011.

Einstein Recedes, NUSP national president, said CHED had failed to take action against schools that have been the subject of complaints by students and parents for not holding consultations before imposing tuition hikes.

Recedes said that CHED had shown “its apparent softness towards the schools it approved when most did not in fact do any form of democratic consultation.”

“As early as March 2010, we have notified CHED of various school violations on tuition consultations. Up to now, CHED has not released the list of approved schools with increases as if the list were some obscene secret that should be kept away from the public eye,” he said.

The NUSP and the Kabataan party-list group launched a “Balik-Eskwela” hotline to gather complaints from parents and students on school violations on tuition and other fees.

CHED had earlier listed 339 schools which informed it of tuition hikes for 2010-11.

The commission said the number might be slashed should it be able to determine that schools that did not consult with parents and students. –Rainier Allan Ronda (The Philippine Star)