Over 800 private schools nationwide have applied for Tuition and Other School Fees (TOSF) increase for School Year (SY) 2026-2027, the Department of Education (DepEd) said.
Data obtained by the BusinessMirror gathered by the DepEd from the regional offices (collected by the Private Education Office) as of May 19, showed that a total of 842 schools have applied for increases in their TOSF.
The DepEd has yet to approve these applications as they are still evaluating the requests.
Out of 17 regions, 14 have signified their interest to implement TOSF increase.
The most number of applications came from Region III with 249 schools, followed by Region IV-A (243), National Capital Region (108), Region VI (61), Negros Island Region (50), Region VII (41), Region IV-B (25), Region I (17), Region XIII (16), nine schools from Regions II and XII, Region XI (8), Region IX (6).
Meanwhile, Regions V, VIII, X, and Cordillera Administrative Region have not requested for TOSF hike for this SY.
DepEd noted that private schools are allowed to increase tuition, provided they strictly comply with DepEd guidelines. These regulations ensure that all hikes are justified, transparent, and fair to parents.
Likewise, the DepEd said that revenue from the fee increase, the school must allocate: 70 percent strictly for the salaries, wages, allowances, and other benefits of faculty and staff; 30 percent maximum for institutional development, student assistance, and return of investment.