Filtered By: Topstories
News

Sotto urges DepEd to craft flexible tuition payment scheme for private school students


The Department of Education (DepEd) should create guidelines that would allow longer payment periods for tuition and other fees in private schools, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said on Tuesday.

Sotto said this would help many parents cope with the economic effects of COVID-19.

"Some families have experienced losses because of the lockdown. Private schools should be more accepting of proposed different payment schemes which are more affordable to parents who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 lockdown," Sotto said in a statement.

He underscored that a lot of businesses were forced to shut down for more than two months due to the strict quarantine protocols implemented by the government to contain the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, the DepEd also acknowledged that private schools might resort to hike in tuition and other fees to prevent total shutdown amid the pandemic.

Education Undersecretary Jesus Mateo said the welfare of both parents and workers in the private education sector must be balanced. He added that any increase in school fees must be consulted first with the stakeholders.

Around two million out of the four million students of the K-12 curriculum in private schools may be forced to transfer to public schools in the incoming school year due to belt-tightening measures of Filipino families amid the pandemic, according to the Coordinating Council for Private Educational Associations of the Philippines. -NB, GMA News

LOADING CONTENT