The youth group called Kabataang Pinoy Ayaw sa Tuition Fee Increase yesterday called on the Commission on Higher Education to abolish the collection of development fee categorized under miscellaneous and other fees collected from college students in both private and public schools in Negros Occidental.

Juluis Dagatan, Kabataang Pinoy National Vice President for Visayas, said the collection of development fee is another form of commercialization of education that obliges students to share financially in the construction of new rooms, pavements or buildings in their school.

He said that with the fast-rising cost of oil, rice, power and other commodities and services, the collection of development fee makes education insurmountable for aspiring school goers.

He said the group also calls on the government to stop the annual increase on tuition and other school fees and instead, provide additional subsidy to public schools and state colleges and universities.

Dagatan said they raised these issues with Bacolod City Councilor Greg Gasataya who assured them that his office will try to contact CHED's regional officials for a possible dialog with them.

The KAPI-TOFI leaders also said in a statement that even state colleges and universities experience steady decline in government subsidy to its maintenance and other operating expenditures budget which forces them to charge miscellaneous and other fees similar in private schools.

It said data gathered by the group showed that SCUs has been raising tuition fee yearly up to 300 percent due to lack of government subsidy.*NAB

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