Students led by the League of Filipino Students (LFS), in a scheduled picket-dialogue at the Commission on Higher Education office in Diliman, urged CHED Chairperson Emmanuel Angeles to enforce a tuition moratorium on all colleges and universities in light of the escalation of the global economic downturn that is now being felt fully by a majority of Filipino families.

“With the dim prospects by the government itself that massive lay-offs shall ensue in the next few weeks in the hundreds of thousands, the soundest policy initiative by the CHED at this moment would be to order the freezing of tuition increases in higher education institutions,” said Terry Ridon, spokesperson of the LFS.

“While the COCOPEA has released a statement asking its members to reconsider increasing tuition rates for next year, the CHED can conclusively prod school owners, as a matter of clear government policy, on the gravity of the crisis, and its effects on the entire educational system,” added Ridon.

Ridon added that because of the present economic crisis and the unabated tuition increases through the years, many Filipino families are now mulling the pull-out of their children from their present schools. He said that the bankruptcies of several college education pre-need companies are the clear indicators that under present conditions, the promise of Gloria Arroyo of a bright future for the Filipino youth shall never come to pass.

“Had the Arroyo government simply acceded to the demands of the students in the years past to strictly regulate tuition increases, the education sector shall not be in such a dismal situation, such that even the state universities and colleges which may have served as viable alternatives for higher education are now in dire financial straits, precisely because of this government’s periodic misprioritization, ” he said.

“At present, nonetheless, the best recourse government can do is to implement the tuition moratorium, lest they wish to further earn the ire of the people for failing to manage an already fledging economy, and now, for robbing their children of their future,” said Ridon.