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CHED: More HS grads may not go to college due to high tuition fees


The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said more high school graduates may not move on to college as almost 300 private colleges and universities will increase their tuition fees by up to 15 percent, a report of Unang Balita said on Wednesday. CHED said the tuition fee increase would mean an additional cost of P30 to P100 per academic unit.
CHED announced over the weekend that 282 out of 1,792 colleges and universities in the country will implement a tuition fee increase this coming school year. St. Lukes College of Medicine in National Capital Region will increase its tuition fee by 12 percent, while Ateneo de Manila University, Ateneo Graduate School of Business, Miriam College, University of the East College of Medicine, Assumption College and OB Montessori will increase tuition by 5 percent. University of Santo Tomas, De La Salle University and University of the East-Manila will increase their tuition fees by about four percent. High percentage According to CHED data for 2010, two out of five high school graduates (or about 40 percent) did not proceed to college. CHED executive director Julito Vitriolo said the high cost of tertiary education discourages students, especially those who are underprivileged, from enrolling. "Para sa mga kapos na kapos, maaring magkaroon ng problema sa pasukan kasi baka hindi nila matustusan ang kanilang pag-aaral," he said. However, Vitriolo said CHED cannot do anything about the tuition increases as schools have the right to increase their tuition following certain limits. Vitriolo said teachers and school staff are the ones who benefit from tuition increases because 70 percent of the fee increase usually goes to their salaries. State colleges and universities Meanwhile, Vitriolo encouraged students who cannot afford private schools to enroll in state universities and colleges (SUC) that have significantly lower tuition fees compared to private schools. At the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), for example, a student pays only P12 per academic unit, or about P700 per semester, including miscellaneous fees. This is much cheaper than private universities' tuition, which can go for as high as P2,000 per unit or more than P100,000 per semester. — VVP, GMA News

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