Exodus leaves private schools griping

Rising tuition in private schools has contributed to the increase in transferees to public schools, the Department of Education (DepEd) said.

According to data from the DepEd-NCR, for school year 2016-2017, the number of elementary and high school students that moved to public schools went up to 114,123. In 2014-2015, the number of students who moved to public institutions was only 34,830. It slowed down further to 31,871 during school year 2015-2016.

What concerns officials from private schools, however, are parents who transfer their children without first settling the remaining balance in their tuition.

Eleazardo Kasilag, president of the Federation of Associations of Private Schools and Administrations (FAPSA), pointed out that while the DepEd allows students to register and enroll in public schools even without financial clearance from private schools, they are asking parents to make sure that they pay their obligations first.

“We have already invested in the students, they have already learned, others are about to graduate even, and they have yet to pay. We pay for the salaries of teachers, utilities and we are left emptyhanded when they transfer without even settling their fees. I think they should look also into our plight,” Kasilag said

“It is killing us softly. Our survival is headed to that situation where we might close shop if the DepEd will allow students to transfer to public schools without settling their obligations first with us,” he added.

Recognizing the situation of private schools, the DepEd, through Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla, has appealed to parents not to be remiss in their payments.

“Please settle your obligations in private institutions before you transfer so there will be no problem. We are asking for credentials like the Form 138 from the students’ former schools,” she said.

“We are also giving a grace period for parents to settle their obligations that is why we have what we call temporary enrollment until Aug. 31. After this grace period, the student can continue with his or her studies in the new school but the progress report card will be tagged as temporary,” she explained.

According to the FAPSA, they can release permanent records for as long as parents sign a promissory note first.