Anakbayan: Student suicides rising due to high school rates

P-noy urged: Stop tuition hikes 

BANGUED, Abra – President Aquino was urged by partylist group Anakbayan to issue an executive order freezing all school tuition and other fee increases in all levels.

Anakbayan assailed rising tuition increases urging the Commission on Higher Education and Department of Education to reverse their decision allowing hikes, saying some students nationwide have committed suicide since they could not pay school fees.   

“Anakbayan-Abra expresses its heartfelt condolences to the family of Jhoemary Azaula, an incoming senior computer science student of Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology and to the family of Nilna Habibun, an incoming Sophomore college student from Zamboanga Sibugay who both committed suicide after being unable to enroll due to high cost of education,” the militant group said in press statement.

“It is very sad and we are angered that our youths are pushed into desperation because of rising cost of education. The Aquino government and the Commission on Higher Education should be held accountable for this”, said Anakbayan-Abra secretary Gaida Agaid Azaula and Habibun’s suicide were reportedly the third and fourth case under the Aquino administration, their deaths coming just a few months after the passing of Cagayan State University freshman Rossana Sanfuego and two years after University of the Philippines-Manila student Kristel Tejada.

All three committed suicide after having problems paying their tuition fees.

“We are calling on the Commission of Higher Education and the Department of Education: reverse your earlier decision to allow tuition and other fees increases so as to prevent further incidents like these. We likewise challenge President Noynoy Aquino to issue an executive order freezing all tuition and other fee increases in all levels,”Agaid said the common denominator among victims was they were students from state universities and colleges.

During the Aquino administration, SUCs, Anakbayan said, suffered huge budget cuts which caused the institutions to impose tuition hikes and implement income generating projects, at the expense of the students.

In the Cordillera, 10 higher education institutions were allowed to increase their tuition and other fees, including Abra Valley Colleges who will be increasing its tuition by P11.10 per unit and P16 in other fees this year, according to the list released by CHED.

“We will not take this matter sitting down. Four tuition-related deaths under the Aquino regime, on top of the increasing drop-out and unemployment rates, are too much.”