By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
Migration of teachers from private to public schools is a problem not just in the basic education system but in the higher education, too.
CHED Commissioner Prospero de Vera III
(RTVM / MANILA BULLETIN)
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) officer-in-charge (OIC) and spokesperson J. Prospero De Vera III said many private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are “losing their good faculty” to State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) because they cannot keep up with the salaries being offered by the public HEIs.
“One of the problems being encountered by private universities now is they are losing their good faculty to state universities and colleges,” De Vera said. “Private universities are losing a lot of their good faculty because they cannot pay them competitive salaries,” he added.
For the past two years, De Vera noted that this has been a “phenomenon” as reported to CHED. With the SUCs given new faculty items and the Department of Education (DepEd) creating many teacher items for Senior High School (SHS) since 2016, he noted that many faculties are leaving private HEIs. “You really see a significant migration of faculty from private – especially the smaller private universities in the regions – moving over to the public sector,” he explained.
The need to increase
Earlier, De Vera announced that 248 private HEIs have applied for increase in tuition and other fees for the academic year (AY) 2018-2019.
Based on the initial data submitted to CHED by its Regional Offices (ROs), 238 have applied for tuition increase while 221 HEIs have applied for an increase in other school fees (OSF). However, this is not yet final since it needs the approval of the CHED en banc.
Overall, De Vera said that the number of HEIs is “relatively small” given that there are 1,652 private schools, colleges and universities nationwide – excluding those in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The 248 HEIs that applied for tuition and OSF, he said, represent 14.98 percent of the entire number of private HEIs. The 238 HEIs with increase in tuition represents 14.37 percent while the 221 HEIs with increase in OSF represent 13. 35 percent.
De Vera said most of the private HEIs that applied for increase of tuition and other school fees noted that the hike will be used for salaries of their faculty. “Some are saying the effects of TRAIN law while others say that the increase is caused by the fact that the cost of education has gone higher but the major reason is salary,” he explained.
“The process that the regions have to look at is whether they comply with the mandatory consultation and they where will the money go to,” De Vera said. “Some of them improve their facilities – but most of them are for the salaries of their faculty,” he added.
The salaries in SUCs and the salaries in SHS, De Vera said, are “now higher than the salaries they pay for their professors in private universities.” Thus, they need to increase tuition “so they can be competitive.”
De Vera said private HEIs need to “invest” on their faculty to prevent them from leaving their respective institutions for a more lucrative income. “So, the number one thing that they have to do is to keep their salaries competitive with those in the public sector,” he said.
For private HEIs, De Vera said tuition fee increases is the “number one way of making the salaries of their faculty competitive because 70 percent of any tuition fee increase must be given to salaries.” Thus, the only way private universities can be competitive is they have to pay their faculty competitive salaries and “the best way to do that is to increase tuition.”
Earlier, DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones expressed concern on the continued migration of teachers – as well as students – from private to public elementary and high schools. This, she noted, leads to the growing “phenomenon” of small private schools closing down with lack of enrollees as well as teachers.
“We have this phenomenon of migration – from private to public not only of students but also of teachers,” Briones said. She is referring to students who transfer from private schools to public schools for numerous reasons. She also noted that many private schools close down because they continue to lose teachers – many of whom prefer to teach in public schools because of higher salaries and other benefits.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Associations of Private Schools and Administrators (FAPSA) also lamented that some of its member schools have been closing down because they are having a hard time retaining teachers who prefer to move to public schools because of higher salaries and benefits.