Ten private universities and colleges and a government-run institution from Bacolod City and Negros Occidental are likely to hike tuition fees this school year, Director Rex Casiple, of the Commission on Higher Education Region 6, told the DAILY STAR yesterday.

Casiple did not name the universities and colleges but said Negros Occidental and Bacolod have the most number of institutions that have sought approval from CHED of tuition fee increases.

Aside from Bacolod and Negros Occidental, three private universities and colleges and a government-run institution from Iloilo and one private school each from Capiz and Aklan will also hike their tuition fees, CHED records show.

Casiple said the average increase in tuition fees of the institutions in Western Visayas this year is 7.07 percent while last year it was 7 to 8 percent.

Casiple also said that under CHED guidelines, interested parties may file opposition to the tuition fee increase 30 days after the institution has held a dialog with representatives of the students, faculty, parents and alumni association.

However, as of yesterday, no one has filed any opposition yet against the impending tuition fee increase, he said.

The institutions seeking tuition fee hikes in the region had claimed in their applications that they need it to increase the salaries of their faculty members, improve facilities like their libraries and laboratories and acquire additional equipment.

Casiple said 70 percent of the tuition paid goes to salaries of the teaching and non-teaching personnel, 20 percent to the improvement of school facilities while the use of the remaining ten percent is at the discretion of the administration of the institution.

Region 6 has 151 universities and colleges, 78 of which are privately-run while the rest are government-owned.*APN

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