THE minority bloc in the House of Representatives is calling for a tuition fee freeze for academic year 2021-2022, citing the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rep. Lawrence Fortun (Agusan del Norte) said a resolution will be filed urging all private educational institutions across all levels to implement a “No tuition increase” policy while the country remains under a state of public health emergency.
Fortun said any additional burden for poor households trying to support schoolchildren under the present economic difficulties would only bring down enrollment numbers.
“Any additional expenses in education, on top of those already necessitated by distance learning such as Internet connection and learning gadgets, will only make education more inaccessible especially to the poor and marginalized,” Fortun said.
He pointed out that majority of Filipino families are already hard pressed to make ends meet as unemployment and loss of income opportunities continue to worsen.
“The national economy has suffered its longest recession post-Marcos era as it registered negative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rates in the last five (5) quarters, with still no end of this trend in sight in the foreseeable future. The February 2021 Labor Force Survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority reported 4.2 million jobless Filipinos,” he pointed out.
“All of these could result in the deprivation of a substantial number of Filipino children and youth of access to education. For many families …the crisis will be significantly exacerbated by any increase in tuition fees that may be imposed by schools,” Fortun added.
He noted that in May 2020, two months after the pandemic hit, the Department of Education still allowed 654 elementary and secondary schools to implement increases in tuition and other costs.
