DAVAO CITY – Youth group wants to know why the government is not looking into the profits of the big private schools in the country amidst impending tuition hikes this school year.
Anakbayan national chairperson Vencer Crisostomo said “[President Benigno Aquino’s administration] is turning a blind eye to the fact that schools are posting billions in profits because of the skyrocketing tuition rates while parents and students are burdened with additional expenses.”
The group said the profits of five of the big colleges and universities in the country is “scandalously huge”.
Crisostomo cited reports from the Securities and Exchange Commission which show that Far Eastern University (FEU) posted a gross profit (gross revenue less cost of goods and services) of P1.7 billion in 2013 and P1.5 billion in 2014; Ateneo de Manila University posted P2.9 billion in gross profits for both 2013 and 2014; and University of the East posted gross profits amounting to P1.9 billion in both 2013 and 2014.
Crisostomo said University of Sto. Tomas (UST) in 2013 collected a total of P2.8 billion from tuition and P672 million from other school fees and posted a net revenue of P1.4 billion. While, De La Salle University collected a total of P1.8 billion in tuition and P540 million in other school fees for 2013, and posted over P600 million in net revenue for the same year.
He said these same schools are set to hike tuition and other fees this coming school year.
