Triple whammy to hit workers families; Labor Center blasts tuition fee hike

The Kilusang Mayo Uno Labor Center blasted the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for allowing 80 private colleges and universities (PrCU) to increase tuition fee by 8% this coming school year and called the increase as part of “a deluge of price hikes greeting the rainy season.”

“Allowing a tuition hike would further push more of our children to stop going to school due to higher cost. This tuition increase would add more burden to our already beleaguered family budget. Electricity and transportation cost are expected to increase due to hikes in the prices of oil products. We never deserve this triple whammy on the onset of the rainy season when lives of ordinary people are more miserable, explained Elmer ‘Bong’ Labog, Chairperson of the KMU.

The labor leader also assailed Malacañang and lawmakers for failing to repeal laws which allow deregulated tuition hikes. Politicians usually court the ‘youth vote’ during elections and promised programs and schemes that will benefit them, particularly free or affordable education.

“With this situation, expect more students to shift to public colleges and universities (PuCU). Right now, professors and administrators from PuCU’s are complaining of lack of classroom to accommodate the big influx of new students,” said Labog.

“We are one with our children in protesting the tuition hikes. The CHED can approve on a whim the request for tuition increase from owners of PrCU’s yet when workers ask for wage hike, a doomsday scenario is painted by capitalist’ apologist to discredit our legitimate demands. It is only appropriate for our children to fight back against this attack on their right to education," ended Labog.