By Jade C. Zaldivar
Understanding that tuition fee hikes in schools are inevitable, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio appealed to educational institutions to ‘be lenient’ with parents.
The mayor appealed to schools to provide leeway for parents to ease the burden of financing their children to school.
“My message to schools is, if their petition for a tuition fee hike is approved by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), they should implement leniency on payments,” Duterte-Carpio said Monday during her regular press conference at the city hall conference room.
“They should accept promissory notes from parents, or guarantee the payment schemes. So that even if they implement an increase parents can still cope,” she added.
CHED 11 disclosed last week that 41 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), or 44 percent of the 93 HEIs in the region, have petitioned for tuition hike which will be implemented in school year 2012-2013.
The mayor also said that as a parent herself, she relates to why parents do not welcome tuition fee hikes.
“Katungod na nila mu-reklamo. Even ang mga estudyante katungod na nila to demand asa man padulong ang ilang mga idungag nga bayad. Bisan ako kung ginikanan ko mu-oappose ko ug increase,” she said.
However, she added that she understands why schools need to hike tuitions.
“But siyempre nakasabot pud ta nga sa pag-operate ug skwelahan, ang mga gastuson naga-taas. Sama pud na sa pag-operate ug local government, naga-taaas ang gatuson so kinahanglan sila mu-increase sa tuition fees and miscellaneous fees,” the mayor added.
City scholarship program
Meanwhile, the city provides scholarship to high-performing but financially-challenged students.
For school year 2011-2012 the city shouldered the education of some 130 students under the Scholarship for Tertiary Education Program-Financial Assistance (STEPFA).
“The scholars are required to maintain high grades. If they step up their grades during the previous year then their financial grant will increase, but if they have failing grades then their grant will drop,” Duterte-Carpio said.
