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Bella Cariaso - The Philippine Star
June 1, 2025 | 12:00am
Students from Rafael Palma Elementary School in Manila carry water containers to stay hydrated amid the extreme heat on March 3, 2025.
STAR / Ryan Baldemor
MANILA, Philippines — The Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) said a number of private schools will implement tuition fee hikes for the 2025-2026 school year.
In an interview with radio dzBB, COCOPEA legal counsel Joseph Noel Estrada said the increase is necessary, as the bulk of the tuition fee adjustment will go to the salaries of teachers and school personnel.
“There will be private schools that will implement tuition fee increases, at least within the inflation rate as the cost is also increasing. The increase cannot be prevented as it is the request of teachers and school personnel,” Estrada said.
He said the COCOPEA is still awaiting the figures from the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on the total number of private schools allowed to implement tuition fee hikes.
“We don’t have the data. The concerned agencies – the DepEd and CHED – have yet to issue a final decision on the applications for tuition increases,” Estrada said.
He said most of the schools are now preparing for early opening, as the school year returns to June.
“Most, if not all, are going back to the June school calendar,” Estrada said.
At the same time, he said DepEd’s voucher program is necessary, not only for the decongestion of the public schools, but as assistance to the government in the efficient use of government resources amid the discovery of the anomalies on the use of the vouchers.
“It (anomaly) is only less than one percent of the total number of beneficiaries. We hope we don’t generalize it, as many depend (on the voucher program),” Estrada said.
The DepEd has demanded refunds from 54 private schools flagged for irregularities in Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS-VP) claims for school years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.
Of the 54 schools terminated from the SHS-VP, 38 have fully refunded the government, while two have made partial refunds and 14 schools have yet to return the funds. Final demand letters will be issued to ensure compliance.
To date, approximately P65 million has been recovered. DepEd noted that further investigation is needed to determine whether these financial irregularities constitute fraud.
