Weeks before Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) cancelled the previously proposed 3% tuition and other school fees increase (TOSFI) for the upcoming academic year 2026-2027, students pushed back against the prior approval of the tuition hike without genuine student consultation, pursuing broader engagement with other student councils in addressing tuition-related concerns.

Just ahead of the cancellation of the TOSFI, Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Jimmy Delgado justified the tuition hike as a necessary response to stalled salary increases, given that tuition rates remained unchanged during the pandemic.

“Like the pandemic, two years tayo hindi nag-increase ng tuition, so two years din walang increase in salaries. The only reason why we’re increasing tuition fees is [that] we will be increasing our salaries and benefits of our faculty and staff next year,” he said.

This is in accordance with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Memorandum Order No. 3, Series of 2012, which mandates that at least 70% of tuition fee increases be directed toward personnel salaries and benefits. In the AdDU’s Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA), the agreed allocation is 76%.

He explained that the higher allocation to salaries allowed the university to limit the increase to 3%, instead of a potentially higher adjustment.

“Instead na 4% sana yung increase or 5%, kasi nga 70% or 76% goes to salaries, ang ginawa ng university, 95% of that goes to salaries para hindi masyadong mataas yung increase… Ang remaining 5% would be for student services.” 

Amid affordability concerns, he noted that the increase remains lower than the reported regional inflation rate of 4.4%, describing it as relatively restrained and minimal.

“We stick to the lower figure, 3%, because that’s the only way to make the tuition fee of Ateneo affordable… not too high, but also to a certain amount that we can afford increases in salaries of our faculty and staff,” he added.

Furthermore, he stated that the administration is considering “cost-cutting” measures to mitigate the war in West Asia’s potential impact on inflation and operating costs on the university community.

“This war might drag maybe three months, six months. So, whether we like it or not, next school year, we really have to do some cost-cutting measures to help the university and the students… [But] war or without war, the education will continue,” he said.

Scholarships and long-term affordability

To preserve access to education and keep pace with the continued financial burden on students, the university positioned expanded scholarship support as a sustainable, long-term response to rising education costs.

“Now, in terms of support, in the long term, the only way to support the students, to make it [tuition] affordable, is to offer more scholarships to the students. Because that would be more sustainable because prices of commodities every year increase,” Delgado stated.

Delgado also clarified that the tuition fee increase was not to fund the scholarship budget; the P10-million increase in the scholarship budget was due to the university’s saved operating costs. 

“May mga expenses tayo na nabawasan sa operating cost natin because na-streamline tayo. And instead of making that as an income of the university, we’d rather give it back to the students…the only way to give it back to the students is through scholarships.”

Zee*, a 3rd-year grant-in-aid (GIA) scholar under the School of Arts and Sciences, noted that while financial aid had previously helped account for academic costs, scholarship coverage does not necessarily adjust in proportion to continued tuition increases.

“From my experience, financial aid programs did account for additional costs up until the constant rise in tuition, which has led to cases where scholars still struggle to cover the full cost of studying. Since the GIA scholarship only covers a certain portion of the tuition unlike other scholarships, this portion is only low to compare it with the rising tuition,” they shared.

With questions over affordability and adequacy of student support still persisting, Delgado urges the student body to call for additional discussions beyond the recently held multi-sectoral meeting on the approved TOSFI to address students’ concerns and gain further feedback.

“Ang required under memorandum is there’s going to be only one na tuition fee consultation. But in the past, I always tell the students na if you want to have more consultations, even before the multi-sectoral or after, we are open to it… But it should be the student body who will call for it, which is represented by SAMAHAN,” he asserted.

Lack of student consultation, inter-university dialogue

Samahan ng mga Mag-aaral ng Pamantasan ng Ateneo de Davao (SAMAHAN) Vice President Judge Hinojales revealed that the student council was only informed of the multi-sectoral meeting through a memorandum and was not given a formal invitation to the event, noting the imposed restriction for the representatives to raise inquiries.

“After the presentation [of the budget breakdown], it was an open forum. So instead of us being asked, we were the ones who asked about the details of the tuition fee increase. Then, since we only saw it at that time, those were the things we asked,” Hinojales disclosed.

He also underscored that while a standalone town hall-style consultation was not held following the approval of the proposed TOSFI, SAMAHAN opted to hold a Regional Student Consultation on Tuition and Other School Fee Increases on April 11  to strengthen collective input on tuition-related concerns.

“We thought it would be much better if we could do it in a way that has a more tangible impact. This consultation is actually a result of that,” he added.

As part of a wider consultation initiative on TOSFI, SAMAHAN coordinated with the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP) and Buklod Atenista, along with student councils from various universities across Mindanao, including Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan, Central Mindanao University, Holy Cross of Davao College, Southern Christian Colleges, Mapúa Malayan Colleges Mindanao, and the University of the Philippines – Mindanao.

Hinojales asserted that the dialogue served as the first leg of a student-led consultation series, which aims to consolidate insights from different institutions, is endorsed by SCAP, and will later be used to lobby the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Technical Working Group to review policies on tuition and other school fees.

“…it’s better that we send our insights and grievances to SCAP so they can forward them to the Technical Working Group, because whatever is agreed upon in the TWG, that’s what the universities will follow, whether they like it or not. Because at the university level, we are at the mercy of the university’s wishes.” 

Two TOSFI-related resolutions were passed on the 42nd session of the National Congress during the Buklod Atenista National Leaders’ Summit, namely: “urging member student governments (MSGs) to oppose unjust TOSFI and to advocate for accessible and affordable quality education in Jesuit Higher Education Institutions” and “to establish the Buklod MSGs TOFI monitoring body.” 

Upon AdDU administrators’ announcement of the proposed tuition hike for the AY 2026-2027, the Ateneans Coalition for Fair Tuition (ACFT) was also established separately by progressive students to campaign for fair education, calling on the administration to conduct genuine student consultations beforehand.

Editor’s note: Names marked with asterisks are pseudonyms used at the request of the interviewees. This article was completed on April 14 and originally intended for release in the May 2026 Second Semester Newsletter. However, it has been updated to reflect recent developments, and a follow-up article on the rationale for cancelling the initial 3% tuition fee increase will be released soon.