Feb. 10, 7:25 p.m. – THE UST administration plans to hike tuition by P72 per unit next academic year (AY), in what would be the highest rate of increase in five years.
Under the proposed schedule of fees released by the Office of the Vice Rector for Finance last week, tuition will amount to P1,279 per unit for AY 2012-2013 – a six-percent increase from the previous P1,207 per unit.
If approved, this will be the highest rate of increase since 2007, when tuition went up by 6.2 percent. The administration imposed four-percent and three-percent hikes in AY 2010-2011 and AY 2011-2012, respectively, to P1,172 and P1,207 per unit.
The administration is also proposing a six-percent increase in the laboratory tuition to P2,558 per unit from last year’s P2,414. Laboratory units apply to the Faculties of Pharmacy and Engineering and the Colleges of Nursing, Science, Rehabilitation Sciences, and Tourism and Hospitality Management.
The fee for the National Service Training Program will likewise be increased by six percent to P1,919 from last year’s P1,811.
In miscellaneous fees, the athletic fee for freshmen will go up to P1,500 from last year’s P1,250, under the administration proposal. For the higher years, the fee will stay at P1,250.
The library fee meanwhile will go up to P1,082 or four percent higher than last year’s P1,040. The cultural fee, which amounted to P400 last year to help finance Quadricentennial projects, will be cut by 50 percent to P200 for first-year students, and 75 percent to P100 for higher year levels.
Also under the administration proposal, there will be a 28-percent hike on the student activity fee, which stood at just P175 last year.
By law, 70 percent of tuition increases must go to salary increases of University employees, while the rest may be used for facilities improvement and maintenance, as well as to cover increases in the cost of services and commodities.
Tuition increases had followed inflation – the rate of increase in average prices of consumer goods and services – in previous years. In 2011, inflation hit 4.8 percent, data from the National Statistics Office showed.
Central Student Council President Lorraine Taguiam said a University committee will hold a consultation on tuition and other fees on Tuesday.
The members of the committee are Vice Rector for Finance Fr. Manuel Roux, O.P., UST comptroller Diomedes Yadao, assistant comptroller Marissa Gonzales, Assistant to the Rector for Academic Affairs and Research Clarita Carillo, Assistant to the Rector for Administration Pilar Romero, University Registrar Cesar Velasco, and Assistant Treasurers Fr. Jose Ma. Tinoko, O.P., and Leonardo Syjuco. Rafael L. Antonio
GRABEHAN YAN!