CHED: SUCs assure no tuition increase next year

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has assured students there will be no tuition increase in state universities and colleges (SUCs) next year.

The assurance comes on the heels of massive protests over supposed cuts to the budgets of SUCs.

Students have voiced fears that SUCs could impose as much as a 300% increase in tuition next year to make up for supposed budget cuts.

Speaking on ANC’s “The Rundown” on Wednesday night, CHED Chairperson Patricia Licuanan said SUCs assured them last week that there would be no tuition hikes.

“I don’t think they should drum-up this fear that tuition should increase because categorically the SUCs have said no they will not do that. Their fear is budget cuts equals tuition increase, and we have had discussions with the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges and SUC heads and they’ve assured us there’s no tuition increase,” she said.

“There is a slight decrease, because we’re not counting congressional initiatives, but it’s temporary.”

Meantime, Licuanan added they have proposed to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) that the funds of SUCs would be used for urgent needs.

“I think we will bring back the MOOE [Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses] and higher education fund–more than P2 billion–proposing it be allowed for various needs,” she said.

Students not buying assurance

But student groups are not buying the assurance given the policy direction of the Aquino government for education.

Vencer Crisostomo, spokesman for the Kilos na Laban sa Budget Cuts, referred to President Aquino’s message on the national budget and expressed plans to reduce subsidies to state universities to force them towards becoming self-sufficient and financially independent.

Crisostomo noted that government has allocated P23.4 billion to state universities, lower than the P28 billion budget for 2010.

Crisistomo said this move would be a disservice to Filipino students.

“There’s an increase in enrollment because of tuition increases in private schools. Cutting down on SUCs and their budget would be denying the right of Filipinos to education,” he said.

Crisostomo said 97 out of 111 SUCs have cuts in their MOOE’s amounting to 10-55%, and only 15 schools were spared of cuts.

New formula needed

Dr. Dante Guevara, vice-president for Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges-National Capital Region, appealed for a better formula or a more just way to allocate funds, as access to SUC funds is currently limited by “high normative financing” used as basis by the DBM.

Licuanan believes there may be a need to rationalize the SUCs’ fund.

“We should revisit the formula and maybe not apply it across the board,” she said. –Caroline J. Howard, ABS-CBN News Channel