Presidential Decree No. 451 (PD 451) — Authorizing the Secretary of Education and Culture to Regulate the Imposition of Tuition and Other School Fees, Repealing Republic Act No. 6139, and for Other Purposes
WHEREAS, private schools, colleges and universities have
been faced with increasingly serious problems arising from decreasing
incomes due to slump in enrolment and increasing operational costs
brought about by the rise in prices of instructional materials and
educational, as well as allied services;
WHEREAS, it is imperative that private educational
institutions upgrade classroom instruction by improving their facilities
and hiring competent teachers in all levels of education, provide
salary and/or wage increases and other benefits to their teaching,
administrative and other personnel to keep up with the increasing cost
of living;
WHEREAS, the procedure prescribed under R.A. No. 6139 for
the increase of tuition and other school fees has been proved to be too
cumbersome and time-consuming, and is not conducive to the growth and
improvement of private educational institutions and the well-being of
their employees, particularly those in the lower income groups; and
WHEREAS, in order to alleviate the sad plight of private
schools, their personnel and all those directly and indirecty dependent
on school incomes it is advisable and necessary that the cumbersome and
time-consuming procedures fixed under. Republic Act No. 6139 for
increasing tuition fees be simplified without opening the floodgates to
abuse of the right to increase tuition and other school fees.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution do
hereby decree and order the following as part of the law of the land:
Authority of the Secretary of Education and Culture.
SECTION 1. Authority of the Secretary of Education and
Culture.—Within the limits and under the circumstances set forth in
this Decree, the Secretary of Education and Culture shall have the
authority to regulate the imposition of tuition and other school fees or
charges by any and all private schools as denned under Act Numbered Two
Thousand Seven Hundred and Six, as amended. No changes in the rates of
tuition or other school fees or charges shall be effective without the
prior approval of the Secretary of Education and Culture. New school
fees or charges to be imposed by new or existing schools, whether for
new courses or other matters, shall be at such reasonable rates as may
be determined by the Secretary of Education and Culture based on the
standard of such school.
Application and Document Required.
SEC. 2. Application and Document Required.—Any
private school which desires to revise its rates of tuition or other
school fees or charges or to impose other fees or charges shall file
application therefor with the Secretary of Education and Culture. The
application shall include:
Statement of the itemized current rates of tuition and other
charges and the corresponding itemized proposed changes thereon, as well
as the new fees or charges proposed to be imposed, and of the proposed
allocation of the incremental proceeds in accordance with Section 3 (a)
hereof. Such statements shall, when accomplished be under oath by the
proper official(s) of the school concerned;
Financial statement showing the financial status of
school duly certified by a certified public accountant;
A copy of the last tax return, where required, filed with the
Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Limitations.
SEC. 3. Limitations.—The increase in tuition or
other school fees or other charges as well as the new fees or charges
authorized under the next preceding section shall be subject to the
following conditions:
That no increase in tuition or other school fees or charges
shall be approved unless sixty (60%) per centum of the proceeds is
allocated for increase in salaries or wages of the members of the
faculty and all other employees of the school concerned, and the balance
for institutional development, student assistance and extension
services, and return to investments: Provided, That in no case
shall the return to investments exceed twelve (12%) per centum of the
incremental proceeds; and
That any such increase shall in no case exceed fifteen (15%)
per centum of the rates charged during the next preceding school year.
Rules and Regulations.
SEC. 4. Rules and Regulations.—The Secretary of
Education and Culture is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to
issue the requisite rules and regulations for the effective
implementation of this Decree. He may, in addition to the requirements
and limitations provided for under Sections 2 and 3 hereof, impose other
requirements and limitations as he may deem proper and reasonable.
Prohibitions.
SEC. 5. Prohibitions.—No school administration or
office or division thereof shall hold or sponsor any benefit
performance, movies, concerts, dramatic presentation, games and/or shows
of whatever kind or nature whether for charity or otherwise. Any such
act on the part of the school administration or office or division
thereof shall be considered a circumvention of this law and shall be
sufficient cause for the cancellation of the approval of any previous
increase in tuition or other school fees and shall subject the school
official concerned to such disciplinary action as the Secretary of
Education and Culture may deem proper including the revocation on any
degree conferred by authority of the Government.
Review of Financial Statements.
SEC. 6. Review of Financial Statements.—Financial
statements submitted in accordance with the provisions of Section 2
hereof may be reviewed by the Commission on Audit at the instance of the
Secretary of Education and Culture whenever he believes that the same
is necessary for verification purposes. For this purpose, the Commission
on Audit is authorized to examine the pertinent books and records of
the school concerned.
Additional Scholarships.
SEC. 7. Additional Scholarships.—As a further
condition to any grant of increase in tuition or other school fees,
private schools with a total enrolment of at least one thousand, are
hereby required to private free scholarships to poor but deserving
students at the ratio of one (1) free scholarship for every five hundred
(500) pupils/students enrolled: Provided, That this requirement
shall be exclusive of the present practice of private schools offering
scholarship privileges to valedictorians and salutatorians and other
pupils/students who have achieved scholastic distinctions. Neither shall
other forms of scholarships such as those offered to athletes and
working students be included in arriving at the proper number of poor
but deserving pupils/ students to be given free scholarships.
Penal Clause.
SEC. 8. Penal Clause.—Any violation of the
provisions of this Decree or of the rules or regulations promulgated
pursuant thereto or any final decision made by the Secretary of
Education and Culture shall be punishable by a fine of five thousand
(P5,000.00) pesos or imprisonment of two years or both at the discretion
of the court which penalty shall be imposed on the official(s) of the
private school or on any person acting for and in behalf of the school
directly responsible for the violation. If the violator is a public
official the same penalty shall be imposed without prejudice to any
administrative action which may be taken against him.
Repealing Clause.
SEC. 9. Repealing Clause.—Republic Act No. 6139
is hereby repealed, and all laws, decrees, executive orders, directives
and rules and regulations inconsistent herewith are likewise repealed,
amended or modified accordingly.
Effectivity.
SEC. 10. Effectivity.—This Decree shall take
effect immediately.
Done in the City of Manila, this 11th day of May, in the year
of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-four.
(Sgd.) FERDINAND E.
MARCOS
President of the Philippines
By the President:
(Sgd.) ALEJANDRO
MELCHOR
Executive Secretary
Source: Supreme Court E-Library, Republic of the Philippines. Philippine laws are public documents (works of the government).
