Close to 500 schools allowed to hike tuition; DepEd says more to follow

Close to 500 private schools will raise their tuition for school year 2018-2019, with the number expected to increase as more regions submit their reports to the Department of Education (DepEd).

According to Education Undersecretary Jesus Mateo, 478 out of 11,368 private schools nationwide were allowed by the DepEd regional offices to impose a tuition increase for the coming school year.

He added the number could increase because so far only six regions — National Capital Region, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Caraga and Regions 10 and 12 — have submitted their reports.

Mateo could not say exactly how much the tuition increase will be, but DepEd NCR earlier said it limited the hike from five percent to 15 percent.

Mateo said most schools applied for tuition hike so they could increase the salaries and benefits of their employees.

"Dahil nga mas mataas na 'yung suweldo ng ating public school teachers. 'Yun nga 'yung parang isa sa mga nare-receive naming concern na nire-raise, nagma-migrate 'yung teachers ng private school to public school," he said.

DepEd requires that 70 percent of tuition hikes be alloted for increases in salaries and other benefits of the school's employees while 20-30 percent should be alloted for improvement in facilities.

Before the DepEd approves any application, schools are required to submit documents showing their financial status and proof that they conducted consultations with the affected sectors.

Mateo said many private school teachers transfer to public schools because of better pay. He said the basic starting salary and allowances of a Teacher 1 in a public school could reach up to P25,000-26,000 per month while the private school counterpart could earn only P6,000-12,000.

"On one hand, maganda 'yun for public school. Pero ang pangit naman 'yun for private school kasi once na magsarado ang private school, magkakaproblema ang public school. Hindi maa-accommodate ‘yon," he said. —KBK, GMA News