PHILIPPINES: Fees to be investigated

Senator Edgardo J Angara has sought an inquiry by the senate into the imposition of redundant and excessive miscellaneous fees by higher education institutions in the Philippines, which he said was a major factor contributing to rising drop-out rates, writes Mark Anthony N Manuel for the Manila Bulletin.

Angara said that the senate committee on education, culture and arts, which he chairs, held a public hearing recently to look for short- and long-term fixes to excessive fees in institutions of higher learning. He said university charges cost more than the tuition of students. "According to the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), 324 out of the 1,611 privately run higher education institutions in the country were allowed to raise their tuition this year by an average of 14.37%," Angara said.

Meanwhile, state universities and colleges are prohibited from increasing their fees while 80% of 63 deregulated local universities and colleges increased fees by 5% to 10%. CHEd does not regulate the increase in miscellaneous fees among higher education institutions.
Full report on the Manila Bulletin site