THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas will not implement a tuition increase for the academic year 2026–2027, but other school fees may still increase, according to the UST Central Student Council (CSC).
According to CSC president Annie Agon, the Office for Student Affairs (OSA) has informed the council that there would be no tuition hikes next year way before the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) directed schools to freeze tuition increases.
“At the central level, there was not a consultation with us, but we were told na there will be no [tuition increase]. As for other fees in [the] university-wide level, we don’t have actual data and [a] breakdown for it,” Agon told The Flame.
Last April 28 during a press conference, CHED Chairperson Shirley Agrupis called on all higher education institutions to defer tuition hikes for the following academic year as the Middle East conflict continues to intensify the global energy crisis.
The decision aligns with Executive Order No. 110, which declared a State of National Energy Emergency due to global supply disruptions affecting fuel and energy costs.
However, the CSC president said the University’s other school fees (OSF) may continue to rise annually despite the announcement of no tuition hike.
Other school fees refer to charges that cover laboratory, school health service, student organization, school publications, infrastructure costs and miscellaneous expenses.
“OSF is increasing every year and institutions are not required to consult with students as per CHED,” Agon said.
“There are LSCs (local student councils) who were consulted that there would be no TFI but there will be [an increased] OSF. There are also LSCs that were only consulted about OSF. But this one does not reflect [on] every academic unit, since we don’t have enough data to conclude,” she added.
Under CHED Memorandum Order No. 3, any changes to these fees require formal consultation with student councils and faculty by Feb. 28 of the year before the hike is set to take effect.
“All HEIs (higher education institutions), public or private, intending to increase their tuition and other school fees for the ensuing Academic Year (AY) shall conduct consultations, as hereinafter defined and provided, with their student councils/governments,” it reads.
AB to raise other school fees
The Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) has already proposed an increase to some of its other school fees, according to faculty secretary Asst. Prof. Louie Benedict Ignacio.
Ignacio said the proposal was presented to representatives of the student body, including the AB Board of Majors (BOM) and the Artlets Student Council (ABSC), in line with CHED’s prescribed consultation procedure.
“It was deliberated [on], and it was submitted to CHED for approval. Sa tuition walang binago (There were no changes to the tuition). Not everything [will be increased,] he told The Flame.
“After the discussion, we submitted it to the OVRF (Office of the Vice Rector for Finance) for approval,” the faculty official added.
Some of the proposed increase will be allocated to the Student Activity Fund, as endorsed by ABSC and the BOM, and to the extension of the seniors’ retreat from two days and one night to three days and two nights.
Other items with expanded budgets include learning materials and testing supplies for specific academic programs.
Following the declaration of a national state of energy emergency, CHED granted schools flexibility to shift to 100% online learning to reduce on-campus energy consumption and transportation costs for students.
Despite this, UST maintained a 30-50% cap for online classes in its blended learning setup for the remainder of the academic year. F – with reports from Rovy Jilyn Fraginal and Trisha Tamio
