Various student councils from private higher educational institutions (PHEI) submitted a position paper to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), urging the implementation of a moratorium on tuition and other fees increase (TOFI) and junk ‘redundant, dubious, and exorbitant’ school fees for S.Y. 2025-2026 last March 10. 

The National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) led the submission of position papers of various student councils on Monday, together with Kabataan Partylist to spearhead the press conference.

Representatives from the University of the East Manila and Caloocan, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, De La Salle University, University of Santo Tomas (UST) and the Saint Louis University in Baguio City submitted their respective position papers to CHED.

It argued that TOFI places a financial burden on students and families, violates the right to education, diminishes access to quality education, and carries social and economic implications. 

Student-leaders from private institutions decried such increase, emphasizing the invisible improvements in school facilities, faculty and staff salaries, or quality of education at large.

Additionally, the position paper underscored that education should be accessible and affordable, not a commodity for profit, calling on the government and institutions to find alternatives to increasing fees.

“Education should be accessible to and affordable for all, not a commodity for the profit of big businessmen. Instead of raising costs, the government and educational institutions should seek alternative solutions to maintain and improve education quality,” it read.

Furthermore, student-leaders argued that TOFI poses a risk of forcing students to drop out or transfer to more schools that have affordable tuition fees, citing a survey at DLSU in which 1.8 percent of students considered taking a leave of absence due to the increase in tuition and other fees.

In the press conference, UST student Sean Capalar stressed that their administration had yet to conduct constituency checks among its students despite February passing.

“Ang usapin ng tuition fee and other school fee increase maging ang kakulangan ng konsultasyon nito sa mga estudyante ay hindi na bago sa mga Tomasino. Lumipas na ang buwan ng Pebrero, hindi na nagkaroon ng constituency check ang UST sa malawak na hanay ng mga estudyante nito,” she said.

Capalar also cited the sudden four-percent hike imposed on freshmen, similar to February last year, emphasizing that the UST administration ‘treats fee hikes as mere announcements rather than involving the Thomasian community.’

The student organizations urged CHED to impose a moratorium on TOFI, describing it as ‘redundant, dubious, and exorbitant.’ They also encourage higher education institutions to stand with students for the right to free, accessible, and quality education.

Based on the report of NUSP, the University of Cordillera garnered the highest reported TOFI, ranging from seven to 10 percent.

Private universities have proposed TOFI for S.Y. 2025-2026, including Ateneo de Manila University with a six-percent increase, Adamson University and University of the East with five percent, DLSU and Centro Escolar University with three percent, Colegio de San Juan de Letran with eight percent, National Teachers College with 3.7 percent, and St. Louis University with 6.25 percent.

CHED set the deadline for school-based consultations last February 28, yet student councils argued that little to no TOFI discussions took place beforehand. 

According to NUSP, tuition and other fees increases in NCR-based schools alone range from three to eight percent for S.Y. 2025-2026. While the University’s administration did not propose TOFI, it is observed among freshmen. 

- Kasharelle Javier

(Photo courtesy of College Editors Guild of the Philippines)