Where's the Money in these Institutes?

If you are a student, a teacher, or a parent, do your part by sharing or liking this.
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Truth is the best defense.

If it is so thought I say things to attack or to attribute ill repute to some people or this money-making institute, then let it be known that I courageously say to you who wear this perfectly ill fitted shoes to detail where the tuition fees and miscellaneous fees of your students go. It is but a standard practice for schools to detail if not enumerate the fees students pay (athletic fee, energy fee, id card fee, internet fee, newsletter fee, medical/ dental fee, org fee, registration fee, etc...). And if this monetary institute has existed for more than 10 years but has done nothing to at least shed light on these issues, then I dare say something is not right with the way its finances are managed. It's simple mathematics; we multiply each fee to the number of students to identify how much is allotted for each aspect; it may not be an absolute fee or expense but it's an estimate to give the shareholders (students, teachers, and most especially parents who work day and night to send their students to an institute that is supposed to take care of the welfare of their children) so that there's transparency in the system. These fees are included in the miscellaneous fees. The tuition fees, however, are computed on a per unit basis and must detail how much the students are paying daily (e.g. 1 unit - P100, then if students have 8 subjects, 800 daily for the tuition fee. It's much much higher in other institutes).

Why should students, teachers, and parents know this?

Students are ENTITLED (enough with the baloney sense of gratitude versus sense of entitlement; Sense of gratitude should exist in times when you get something for free. If you pay for services, then by all means, assert that you are entitled to your money's worth) to get what they pay for. It's basic. I won't buy a fake Vuitton or a fake Hermes bag for say P50,000 in the same manner that I will not pay P200,000 to a school who cannot even instil library skills to its students because of its apparent lack of better facilities. (I feel sorry for those victims who are now left with no choice but to stay since it's too late for many of them to transfer schools and they also treasure friendship they have with students and teachers around them even at the core of their guts, they so want to just be out of this money-making institute.) Students ought to benefit from the organisational fee they pay. So if each student pays P1000 and there are 20 students as a member of a certain mentorship club (or sometimes Pods) then the students are entitled to PHP20,000 (P1000 x 20 students). The adviser then, in collaboration with each student member, prepares a budget proposal so that they can make good use of the money they are entitled to. Library fees should also be utilised - If each student pays PHP1000 for the library fee and there are say 500 students then somehow the students must benefit from PHP500,000 worth of library facilities. If not, at least half of it - new books, new technology, etc... This should be existing NOW because students pay for it for the school year they are enrolled and not for its future services (it sickens me to know that some students are paying for the campus development fee for PHP5000 each yet they won't even see the light of this so-called development. Where does the money really go?). This computation applies to all the fees for the maximum benefit of the students.

Teachers should also know that for the raise in tuition fee, they are entitled to 70% of the increase. So if the tuition fee is greater than PHP15000 from last school year, then we compute by amount of increase multiplied to the number of students - PHP15000 times 500 students = 7.5 MILLION. Say we have 100 teachers in an institution, then each teacher must approximately have a 75,000 increase yearly or a little over P6000 monthly. It doesn't take a genius. The big question is where do teacher benefits go and who really benefits from this? Just a question.

Lastly, parents must interfere with these issues. it's not just because you pay for your child's tuition fee but because you want to know your money's worth and where your money goes. If you are a parent and you are a part of a parent organisation in an educational institution, then you make it a point to know because you want to make sure your child gets every bit of the cent you paid their education for.

I am mad. Yes, I am. I am passionate about teaching because it's my vocation and it is such a frustration that these money-making institutes are after profit more than student learning that they brag of. My bone hurts to see students (including my previous students) taken advantage by these pretend educators. As an educator, these are the very elements we should protect our students from - entrepreneurs who see education as a lucrative money making machine. Schools are not mainly for profit, it is mainly built for student learning and anyone who prioritises personal (or family) gain over student learning have no right to establish a school; have no right to even be entrusted our kids to; have no right to be called as an educator; have no right to be called a teacher. They should be called business tycoons, commercialists, capitalists, and the right hand of the devil because love of money is the root of all evil.

No. I will not stop educating others by writing and by speaking even if it kills me so long as my expression becomes an eye-opener for the many. I am a teacher and if it means I should use the little light I have as a candle, then let it burn me, let it melt me until my light drowns in my own wax of temporary being.

And if you are so bothered by this writing, you who pretend to put student learning as your main objective, then by all means, tell the real truth and not your version of truth you want others to see. Truth is the best defense and if you have it and I am wrong - I will not hesitate to concede.

And by the way, schools should be transparent to who their members of the board are. If until know, you can't even disclose the names of the people who are in your Board of Trustees or Director, then my question is why? Has nepotism really run deep in this money-making institute?

Students, teachers, and parents, dare to ask, dare to know. Cheers!