By ROBBY JOY D. SALVERON
Davao Today
DAVAO City — Activist youth organizations here blasted the Commission on Higher Education for approving tuition hikes and increase in other school fees this school year.
Kabataan Partylist Vice President for Mindanao, Paul Niño Dotollo said the Ched’s approval to increase tuition and other school fees to 268 schools nationwide is not justified.
Dotollo said the approval of increases “is a complete turnaround of President Duterte’s statements last year of free education for college students.”
“It is a betrayal of hope among students and their parents who are burdened with paying five-digit tuitions for six months,” he said.
Kabataan Partylist slammed Ched’s approval of tuition fees which doubled from last year’s average of P43.49 to this school year’s P86.68.
Other school fees also increased from P115.58 to P243, the statement added.
A total of 32 schools in Davao region increased their tuition and other school fees, 16 of which are in Davao City.
A total of 154 private high schools in the city also increased their tuitions.
“It is not true that there is an offset on profit of big schools and colleges in Davao and the whole country. Their profit will not be lessened because of first year and second year college students. They are just changed to grades 11 and 12 (senior high school),” Dotollo said.
Along with Dotollo, League of Filipino Students Davao City Spokesperson, Omar Mañigo said the tuition hike is a neoliberal attack on the right of education of the students.
“They say it’s because of Kto12 that they’ve lost students. That is a lie because the students are only replaced with grade 11 and grade 12 students,” Mañigo said. (davaotoday.com)
Disclaimer
Mindanao Gold Star Daily holds the copyrights of all articles and photos in perpetuity. Any unauthorized reproduction in any platform, electronic and hardcopy, shall be liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Rights Law of the Philippines.
