DepEd allows 170 NCR schools to hike tuition

A total of 170 private schools in the National Capital Region were allowed to raise their tuition for the coming school year, GMA News' Tina Panganiban-Perez reported on 24 Oras on Tuesday, citing the Department of Education (DepEd).

The DepEd allowed the schools, most of them located in Manila and Quezon City, to increase their tuition by 5 percent to 15 percent.

"There were some schools which applied for a higher rate, higher than 15 percent. We returned it (request), saying that we're limiting the increase only up to 15 percent," said Wilfredo Cabral, director of DepEd-NCR.

"We would want to ensure that the tuiton fee in private schools shall not be exorbitant."

Based on DepEd's list, of the 170 NCR schools that were allowed to increase their tuition for school year 2018-2019, 36 are in Manila and 51 are in Quezon City. No school in Navotas will implement a tuition hike this school year.

Under DepEd's guidelines, 70 percent of the increase should go to additional wage and benefits for school employees, 20 percent for school modernization and facilities, and 10 percent to return of investments.

Cabral said DepEd monitors private schools to ensure that the formula is being followed.

"We have private school supervisors. And in the current setup of the department, we have the quality assurance division of the regional office. One division that's looking at the affairs of private schools," he said. —KBK, GMA News