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PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 451
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 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
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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;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
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;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
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 indirectly dependent on school
incomes it 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 flood-gates
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:cralaw:red
Section 1. Authority of 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 defined 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. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 2. Application and Documents 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:cralaw:red
(a) 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;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(b) Financial statement showing the financial status
of the school duly certified by a certified public accountant;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(c) A copy of the last tax return, where required,
filed with the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Section 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:cralaw:red
(a) 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 chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(b) That any such increase shall in no case exceed
fifteen (15%) per centum of the rates charged during the preceding
school year.
Section 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.
Section 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
decree conferred by authority of the Government.
Section 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.
Section 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 provide 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.
Section 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.
Section 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. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 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.
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