BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
ILOILO City – From 25, the number of private colleges and universities in Western Visayas seeking hike in tuition and miscellaneous fees dropped to 15.
Aaccording to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Region 6, some of the schools that applied for fee increases had not complied with needed documents or requirements.
Of the 15, three are from Iloilo City, three from Bacolod City, seven from Negros Occidental and one each from Roxas City and Aklan.
According to CHED’s supervising education program specialist Dr. Rex Casiple, this school year’s average tuition hike is 7.07 percent, lower than last year’s eight percent.
Casiple refused to name the “hiking” schools.
The 15 private schools compose the 19 percent of the total 78 private universities and colleges in the region.
There are a total of 151 higher education institutions in Western Visayas, 78 of them are private and 73 public.
Casiple said CHED hopes the number to will still decrease because of their appeal for colleges and universities to freeze their school fees for 2014-2015.
Last year, 28 sought an eight percent increase in tuition and miscellaneous fees.
Casiple said CHED has appealed to schools in super typhoon “Yolanda”-hit areas not to seek increases in tuition and miscellaneous fees.
In a statement CHED’s central office assured the public that it will “ensure that HEIs (higher educational institutions) meet the guidelines provided by law, especially the requirement of consultation, the allocation of tuition and the strict adherence with the processes that seek to make tuition increases transparent, reasonable and affordable.”
Last year, CHED allowed 354 out of 1,683 private HEIs nationwide to raise their tuition and other school fees./PN
