FACULTY UNIONS from different private universities have slammed the country’s education regulators for delaying action on the allocation and distribution of faculty members’ tuition increase shares, saying it has led to a “sustained inequality” between private and public school workers.
In a statement released on Thursday, March 6, the Council of Teachers and Staff of College and Universities of the Philippines (CoTeSCUP) called on the education agencies to take immediate corrective actions, saying their supposed lack of urgency and immediate response to workers’ economic hardships have continuously “exploited” private school employees.
“Despite awareness of these long-standing issues, CHED (Commission on Higher Education) and DepEd (Department of Education) have shown a lack of urgency and an inadequate response to the economic hardships of private school workers. Their failure to implement policy reforms, introduce necessary regulations, and enforce accountability measures has allowed the continued exploitation of private school educators and staff,” CoTeSCUP said.
“Rather than treating this as a labor and education crisis, both agencies have repeatedly deferred substantive reforms, leaving private school workers trapped in a cycle of economic insecurity.”
The statement was signed by CoTeSCUP president Asst. Prof. Rene Luis Tadle, who also heads the UST Arts and Letters Faculty Association, vice president Mark Te, treasurer Grace Socorro Larcena and secretary general Myra Rebuglo-Duldulao.
Also among the signatories were the coalition’s board members Victor Aguilan, Nestor Mamuad Asuncion, Jovy Cuadra, Michael Jambalos and Josephine Prudente.
CoTeSCUP also hit DepEd and CHED for their alleged misallocation of state subsidies, failure to establish wage standardization, neglect of monitoring systems and the absence of structured policies to regulate workers’ salary. The shortcomings have driven many private school employees to transfer to public education institutions, the group said.
The DepEd is responsible for formulating and implementing policies and programs for Philippine basic education, while CHED is in charge of regulating and managing the country’s higher education framework.
The unions also raised issues on the allocation and distribution of their respective universities’ tuition increase share. Among the concerns was the withholding of tuition increase shares until negotiations on the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) have been finalized.
Under the law, higher education institutions are required to allocate 70% of their tuition increases to the salaries, wages, allowances and other benefits of their academic and non-academic personnel. However, according to CHED, the share may be provided for in the CBA.
In a letter addressed to CHED Chairperson Prospero De Vera III last February, the CoTeSCUP demanded an immediate dialogue between the commission and faculty unions to address the concerns.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros has also called on the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) to assess the allocation and distribution of the 70% share of private school workers in the tuition hike of their respective institutions. However, no progress has been made despite the formation of a technical working group to review the CHED Memorandum Order No. 3, Series of 2012. The memorandum tackled matters related to the tuition hike.
“The failure of CHED and DepEd to realize the core objective of RA 6728—enhancing the economic well-being of private school workers—has led to a sustained cycle of inequality between public and private school workers,” CoTeSCUP said.
In a press conference held by the coalition on March 7, UST Faculty Union president Emerito Gonzales reiterated that political issues and economic provisions have stalled the
CBA negotiations and have delayed the release of the tuition share.
“It took us more than three months to give the interest of our TFI share. Now, we have not been able to close our CBA due to contentious issues, economic provisions and a few political issues,” he said.
“So, our TFI share for the last three years is still non-existent up to now. And our inflation is real. Hopefully, we can put provisions in the CBA that in the next negotiation, it will not be related to ratification.”
Other concerns raised by CoTeSCUP were the exclusion of first-year students on the tuition increases share distribution; the use of the Data Privacy Act to withhold disclosure of tuition increase data to the faculty members, which left the workers with no means to verify their tuition hike shares; and the unilateral altering of tuition increase share after losing labor cases.
‘Lack of representation’
According to CoTesCUP, the systemic failure in the private education sector was worsened by the EDCOM II’s lack of oversight on key issues.
“The absence of these voices in EDCOM II’s decision-making processes has resulted in an institution-centric approach that prioritizes school survival over the livelihood and rights of educators and students,” CoTesCUP said.
“By failing to incorporate the perspectives of private school educators and staff, EDCOM II’s recommendations remain incomplete and fail to address the deeper labor issues affecting the sector,” it added.
The group cited the need to firm up policies that affect standardized wage, benefits and secured employment in the education sector.
CoTesCUP also warned that private school educators and staff would plunged into a “state of economic insecurity” if the Republic Act (RA) 6728 or the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act is not amended.
“It is imperative that CHED and DepEd take immediate corrective actions to ensure that RA 6728 truly benefits educators and staff,” CoTesCUP said.
The group called for a mandatory salary scale for private school workers, the giving of subsidy to private schools for staff salary improvements and measures that would provide a more robust labor protection.
CoTesCUP also called on the affected education groups and to participate in “genuine educational reform.”
“Their collective voice and advocacy are necessary to push for policies that truly address the economic and labor concerns of private educational institutions,” it said. F
