Shirt: NIKE KIDS; Shorts: GINGERSNAPS; Rubber shoes: NIKE;
Supposedly, the title to this post is Tuition Fee Feels. However, sabi daw nila redundant na when you say “Tuition Fee” so I always keep that in mind.
Anyway, it has been 6 years since we started paying for Anika’s school tuition. One of my readers asked me to talk about how I feel about school tuition these days.
Wala naman akong masyadong feeling about it except that, ang mahal mahal magpaaral ng bata nowadays! Feel na feel ng bulsa ko, mga bakla. Lumalabas, if you want to ensure that your child gets a good education, you really will have to invest. Anika’s school tuition costs around Php 125,000+ a year including the books and notebooks. You have to note that Anika’s school is hindi pa the most expensive school in the country. Nasa mid-range pa siya ng mga mahal na school. Medyo swerte ako ng slight in this aspect because I have only one child.
Imagine if you have 3 kids and you want to enroll them in a prestigious school. You have to spend at least around Php 375,000 per year. Kung ganyan ang tuition, you need to be earning at least Php 40,000 a month. Yan ay kung ang sweldo mo is solely for tuition lang. Hindi ikaw ang magbabayad ng amortization ng bahay, association dues, kureyente, tubig, wala kang cellphone bills, you don’t spend on food, clothes, shoes, make up, recreational eklaver and kung ano ano pang everyday expenses.
Now we have a picture of how much more or less your monthly salary if you want your kids to study in these kinds of schools. Ang tanong is, sulit ba talaga? Is there a difference in expensive schools vs. inexpensive schools? Anong lamang ng mga kids studying in expensive schools? May difference ba talaga?
Here is what I think.
Ang kamote naman if walang difference ‘teh. Nagkakanda-kuba kuba ka na magwork para lang may pambayad sa tuition na ganyan ka-mahal pero walang difference?
Kalokohan.
I think when it comes to curriculum, wala siguro masyadong difference. Our educational system most probably follows a lesson plan per grade level. Nagkaka-iba na lang siguro yan on the quality of the education they provide and the quality of the way they teach it to the students. Sa mahal ng tuition, I believe expensive schools can afford teachers with quality. Teachers have more equipment/gadgets/techonolgy to use in these school to enhance their teaching skills. Parents who are sending their kids to expensive and prestigious schools are assured that their kids are getting quality education worth of what they are paying for.
Although quality education in the major reason why we sent Anika to an expensive school, hindi lang yan ang dahilan.
Another reason is the school facilities. Magaganda ang facilities in their school. The classrooms are air-conditioned although, hindi ko gusto na aircon na classroom because mas mabilis sila magkahawaan ng cough and colds. The kids have a lot of choices on what they want to do and on what talent they want to hone. And after picking what they want to learn and get better at, we are assured that the school has the best facility for it. Gusto maging swimmer? O ayan ang Olympic sized pool! Diyan ka matutuo. They want to learn how to dance, sing and act? Ayan ang mga state of the art studios. Madaming studios. Hindi magsisiksikan ang mga kids. Theater ba need niya? Ayan ang parang CCP or Aliw Theater inside the school. Do you want to play soccer? Ayan ang dalawang soccer fields! Do you want to learn how to play basketball of volleyball? Hindi enough that Anika’s school provided a big air-conditioned gymnasium. Meron pang 6 covered basketball courts na nakahilera one after the other inside. Magsawa kang magbasketball or magvolleyball. Gusto mo kumain? Apart from the small cafeteria by the gym, ayan ang 6 basketball courts long na cafeteria. It’s the longest cafeteria in the Philippines. Sige, ewan ko na lang if wala ka pang mapiling makain diyan. Apart from the facilities, there are teachers who specializes for each talent kaya sure ka na matuturuan or macocoach nila yung bata ng maayos.
Another reason I chose Anika’s school despite being expensive is the general environment of the school. Ito yung over-all behavior that the students can pick up there. Initially sabi ko, yung ugali ng bata sa bahay kasi natututunan yan. Hindi porke nasa prestigious school, mabait ka na agad. However, a friend pointed out that kids spend most of their time in their schools. Mas matagal pa sila sa school kaysa at home so yung ugali nila, malaking probability na mahawa sa mga schoolmates nila. As they say, “people do what people see”. Most probably, kung ano generally ugali ng mga kids in her school, magiging ganyan din si Anika.
Speaking of ugali, it is given that medyo sosyal ang mga bata in schools with expensive tuition. However, ayaw ko lumaking burgis si Anika so I picked CSA. Being an alumna of Colegio San Agustin, I saw how my school mates were able to adapt to the different kinds of people from any level of society. Oo, meron din talaga kaming school mates na mga sosyal and sobrang burgis pero hindi lahat ng students ganun. Majority of the student population are, yes, a little bit on the shala side. They cannot help it. May mga pera eh. But the difference is hindi sila mga matapobre. Marurunong makisama sa iba’t ibang tao. Wala silang inferiority complex. May confidence. Hindi nahihiya makipagusap kahit kanino. Marunong makibagay. Augustinians are very friendly. That is the main reason I sent Anika there. Sana lumaki siyang katulad ko na walang pinipiling tao na pinapakisamahan.
Grade school and high school tuition pa lang yan ha? It increases yearly with no limit on the percentage. Tama ba? Wala talagang nagcocontrol ng limit ng percentage of the increase in tuition? Anyway, paano pa college? Pagusapan na din natin ang college tuition.
Ang De La Salle University daw ngayon is Php 240,000 na per year. That’s 80,000 per term! Nakakapalpitate! When I was a freshman at DLSU in 1998, my tuition was only Php 23,000. So when we compute, in 20 years, Php 57,000 na agad ang increase! Kamusta naman ang tuition there when Anika starts college 10 years from now.
Although I am praying my heart out that Anika will go to UP Diliman for college, Alvin and I are still preparing in case gusto niya mag-La Salle or Ateneo. I remember when I was taking entrance exams for college. I called up my dad.
ME: Papa, saan po ako pwede mag-aral ng college?
PAPA: Kahit saan Princess. Sabihin mo lang anong school gusto mo.
Ang sarap pakinggan di ba? Wala ka nang aatupagin pa kung hindi mag-aral lang ng mabuti. From the start, my parents made sure to prioritize our education amongst the family expenses. Hindi kami mayaman pero Papa and Mama tried their best to send us to the best school they can afford. Tipid kami sa ibang bagay. Hindi mamahalin mga things namin. Maliit lang baon ko everyday pero assured kami na quality education talaga ang natatanggap namin.
I want the same with Anika. Sana kaya namin na ganyan din ang isagot sa kanya when time comes.
Bawasan ko na nga talaga bumili ng kung ano anong anik anik, ano? I should start saving up — a lot!
Your child’s education is the best investment you can have. It’s not actually your house or your cars or your branded clothes or bags. Tingnan niyo naman, tatlo nga Fortuner mo, ang laki ng bahay mo, naka-Balenciaga bag ka lagi, pormado kayo all the time tapos kung san san mo lang inenroll anak mo? May mali di ba? This is their future we are investing on kaya hindi nakakapanghinayang magbayad ng mahal na tuition.
I have to note that the success of a person is not dependent on what school they graduated. But as a parent, at least kampante ka that you have given your kids the best advantage you can afford. Majority of the big companies still look at the school where you graduated in your resume. Advantage na ng mga anak natin if they were able to graduate in a prestigious university. But after that, after they have been accepted by the companies, diskarte na nila yun paano sila uunlad. It’s up to them to create a career and that is life. Basta ikaw, as a parent, you were able to give them the highest leverage you can give.
So there. I am not saying mabaon tayo sa utang masabi lang we are sending our kids to these prestigious schools. What I’m saying is let’s send them to the best school we can afford. Wag tayo manghinayang. Education is the best pamana we can ever give to our kids.
What do you think?