09/03/2026
๐๐ง ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐๐ฐ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐% ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐
๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ
The University of Baguio upholds the motto โItโs All Up Here.โ However, over the years, this ideal has increasingly been overshadowed by practices that reflect a more business-oriented approach to higher education. The proposed 10% Tuition and Other Fee Increase (TOFI) poses a serious threat to incoming batches of freshmen and future UBians who already struggle to afford quality education amid rising inflation and increasing living costs. Instead of strengthening the universityโs commitment to accessible learning, the continuous rise in tuition and other school fees risks placing quality education further out of reach for many students and their families.
๐ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ฌ
The proposed 10% TOFI is expected to take effect for incoming freshmen and transferees in Academic Year 2026โ2027. Observations over the past three years reveal a consistent pattern in which the university imposes a 10% increase in tuition and other fees annually. This recurring adjustment suggests that the increase is not merely a one-time response to economic conditions but part of a continuing institutional trend of raising tuition and other school fees.
Such increases raise serious concerns when compared to broader economic realities. Tuition adjustments are generally expected to remain within reasonable limits, often aligned with or reflective of regional inflation rates, which represent the actual rise in the cost of living. However, a 10% increase in tuition far exceeds typical inflation levels, making it several times higher than the rate at which the cost of living usually grows. In practical terms, this means the cost of education is rising much faster than the financial capacity of most families.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ-๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ
While students understand that the proposed 10% TOFI is not applied as a blanket increase to all currently enrolled students, it is still implemented through what is commonly known as the Freshman Carry-Over Scheme (COS). Through this method, higher education institutions apply tuition and other fee increases primarily to incoming freshmen and transferees, while currently enrolled students continue paying the previous rates.
Under this scheme, each new batch of students enters the university under a higher fee structure. Over time, as more incoming students enroll, the increased tuition and other fees gradually become the standard across the entire student population. Although the increase is not imposed on all students simultaneously, it remains a tuition increase implemented incrementally.
Students oppose this scheme because it still results in rising education costs and shifts the financial burden onto incoming batches of students. Freshmen and transferees immediately shoulder the increased fees upon entering the university, effectively making them the first to bear the impact of tuition adjustments. In this way, COS gradually normalizes tuition increases and contributes to making higher education increasingly expensive and less accessible.
๐๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐
The continued use of the COS also raises concerns regarding transparency and fairness in the implementation of tuition increases. While regulatory safeguards for tuition adjustments exist through CHED Memorandum Order No. 03, series of 2012, particularly Article II, Section 3, these guidelines do not fully safeguard incoming freshmen and transferees. The policy requires higher education institutions to conduct consultations, ensure transparency in financial justifications, and follow approval procedures before implementing tuition increases. However, these consultation processes often do not meaningfully include students who have yet to enroll.
As a result, incoming students may enter the university already subjected to higher tuition rates without having had the opportunity to participate in discussions that directly affect them. This raises important questions about whether the principles of transparency, accountability, and fair representation are being fully upheld.
For this reason, there is a growing call for greater transparency and broader student participation in decisions regarding tuition and other fee increases. Consultation and disclosure processes must not only involve currently enrolled students but should also recognize the rights and welfare of incoming freshmen and transferees who are directly affected by these policies.
๐๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐, ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
The continued implementation of tuition increases raises serious concerns about transparency, fairness, and the accessibility of education. At a time when many students and families are already facing economic hardships, further increases in tuition risk pushing higher education beyond the reach of those who aspire to pursue it.
In response, students continue to raise a collective call for an education system that is affordable, high-quality, and accessible to all. More importantly, this struggle reflects a broader demand for the elimination of tuition and other school fees, recognizing education as a fundamental right rather than a privilege reserved for those who can afford it.
Amid these challenges, hope persists within the halls of the University of Baguio as students unite, organize, and advocate for a future where education is not treated as a commodity, but upheld as a public good that must be accessible to all.
