Students protest tuition hike in colleges, universities

Student groups on Friday pelted red paint at the gates of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) office in Quezon City to protest against the approval of tuition and other fee increases in 304 universities and colleges.

GMA News' Oscar Oida reported on GMA News TV's "Balitanghali" that the protest was the groups' parting gift to President Benigno Aquino III, who will step down from power on June 30.

Among those who took part in the protest are the Kabataan party-list, Anakbayan and the National Union of Students of the Philippines.

“We denounce in the strongest possible terms the approval of unjustified fee increases in schools all over the country. The speedy approval of tuition hikes despite the clear opposition of student groups clearly illustrates the deregulated nature of education in the country in all levels,” said incoming Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago in a statement.

“We are again witnessing how inutile CHED and our government are in protecting the interest of students. Instead of approving tuition hikes, the government should impose a moratorium on tuition increases in light of the worsening economic crisis,” she added.

According to CHED, the average tuition hike is pegged at P43.39 per unit while other school fees was allowed to increase up to 5.41 percent or P115.58 for School Year 2016-2017.

CHED said the tuition was adjusted to account for inflation, increase faculty salaries and modernize school facilities. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News