Aquino government neglects country’s tertiary education; tuition hikes reach up to 103 percent in the NCR

Aquino government neglects country’s tertiary education; tuition hikes reach up to 103 percent in the NCR

According to the study made by the NUSP, since 2001, the national average tuition rate per unit increased by 94.72 percent. From the average of P257.41 per unit in A.Y. 2001-2002, the average tuition rate almost doubled to P501.22 for A.Y. 2010-2011. Meanwhile, in the National Capital Region where most universities and colleges are located, average tuition rate increased by 102.7 percent.

by INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com
So what if the country’s universities are among the top in Asia? The government still neglects these institutions by commercializing education and making it less and less accessible to the poor majority of Filipinos.
This was the assertion of Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino in reaction to a recently released report on the Top 200 Asian Universities for 2011.

“Majority of the top Asian schools, including the leading Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, are state universities substantially funded and supported by their respective governments. This appreciation for tertiary education by other Asian governments are blatantly in contrast with the education policies of the Aquino administration. In our country, state universities and Colleges (SUCs) are institutions of destitution,” Palatino said.

Students led by Kabataan Party-List and the National Union of Students of the Philippines say that the Commission on Higher Education continues to fail in its role to ensure accessible and quality tertiary education in the country. They said the CHED has reneged on its promise made last year that there will be no tuition and other fee increases in state universities and colleges (SUCs) but, many SUCs have already jacked their fees this coming enrollment period. (Photo courtesy of NUSP / bulatlat.com)

In the ranking of career and education network QS, the University of the Philippines placed number one in the country and ranked number 62 in Asia. The Ateneo de Manila University was ranked 68; University of Santo Tomas, no. 104; De La Salle University, no. 107.

In the meantime, eleven universities occupied the same report’s 201+ ranking in Asia. These schools were Mindanao State University, Xavier University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Silliman University, Father Saturnino Urios College, Mapua Institute of Technology, Adamson University, Saint Louis University, Central Mindanao University, University of San Carlos, and University of Southeastern Philippines.

The Philippines has 2,180 colleges and universities only 112 of which are SUCs. Palatino noted that the Philippines is dominated by private schools.

“It is alarming that our SUCs are increasingly pressured by the government to function as private schools. The country’s premier university, UP, receives insufficient funds from the government. Thus, it is forced to raise tuition fees to cover the shortage of funds. Tuition in the university now costs as much as P1000-P1,500 (US$23.25-US$34.88) per unit. That translates to P18,000 (US$419) per semester, but this still excludes miscellaneous fees,” Palatino said..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com


URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/05/27/aquino-government-neglects-countrys-tertiary-education-tuition-hikes-reach-up-to-103-percent-in-the-ncr/