After three years of continuous tuition hikes, three out of five Ateneo universities halted their respective proposed Tuition and Other School Fees Increase (TOSFI) for the academic year 2026–2027 amid growing economic pressures and nationwide calls for tuition justice and accessible education.
In a manifesto on April 17 and a statement on May 20, Buklod Atenista opposed the implementation of TOSFI and called on Ateneo administrators to prioritize student welfare through genuine stakeholder consultations and strengthened financial transparency.
Following appeals from various student organizations, Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) and Ateneo de Naga University (AdNU) announced a zero-percent TOSFI for AY 2026–2027 on April 26 and May 18, respectively.
Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) later followed suit on June 3, declaring a tuition freeze for students and a salary increase for its employees for the fiscal year 2026–2027, with the increase being funded through cost-cutting measures rather than tuition increases.
This move comes after student governments and alliances across the country urged higher education institutions (HEIs) to refrain from imposing additional financial burdens on students and their families.
After months of lobbying against the proposed TOSFI, outgoing Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral ng mga Paaralang Loyola ng Ateneo de Manila (Sanggunian) President Annika Torres described the campaign as a difficult process marked by numerous revisions, meetings, and “dead ends.”
“We were forced to reckon with the seemingly lone alternative of our No to TOSFI stance being responsible for the thousands of employees not attaining their well-deserved salary increases,” Torres stated in a Facebook post.
Despite these challenges, Torres maintained that the interests of students and university employees should not be treated as competing priorities.
“We stood firm in our belief that the interests of us students, as well as faculty and workers, are not at odds at all… That there was a more loving option to meet the needs of the students without compromising the equally urgent needs of another cornerstone of our institution, our beloved faculty, staff, and workers,” Torres argued.
Stakeholder concerns, cost-cutting measures
Initially intended to fund salary increases for faculty and staff, the previously approved TOSFI was cancelled through an executive decision, according to AdDU Vice President for Research, Innovations, and Community Engagement (VP-RICE) Fr. Antonio Basilio, SJ.
Basilio said the decision was made in consideration of students and other stakeholders amid prevailing economic challenges.
“The cancellation of the tuition fee increase was done precisely in consideration of our students. At the same time, the University still hopes to provide salary increases for faculty and staff despite these constraints… The increase in faculty salaries is envisioned to be compensated eventually through future tuition adjustments,” Basilio assured.
In the absence of additional revenue from tuition adjustments to support improvements, he mentioned that the university has implemented cost-cutting measures “to maintain quality and remain competitive.”
“Various offices were asked to tighten their budgets. Faculty development activities were also moderated unless considered crucial.”
Alternating hybrid setup
The university retained its alternating online and onsite setup for the summer term 2026 as high energy costs continued to affect the country.
Basilio pointed out that the alternative setting mirrors the arrangement previously adopted during the second semester of AY 2025-2026 as part of the university’s effort to manage costs amid the ongoing energy crisis.
“Since high energy costs persisted into the summer term, the same arrangement was continued after consultations with the Higher Education Council,” VP-RICE Antonio Basilio said.
On whether this setup will continue into the first semester of the upcoming AY2026–2027, he explained that it “depends largely on how the crisis evolves,” adding that the university will decide the best possible recourse in the future.
“If fuel prices normalize and the crisis abates, we may return fully onsite. If conditions worsen significantly, we may have to move toward fully online arrangements.”