Straight Talk By Nimfa L. Estrellado According to report Senator Nancy Binay called on the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to cl...
Straight Talk
By Nimfa L. Estrellado
According to report Senator Nancy Binay called on the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to clarify its rules and regulations regarding its free tuition policy in state colleges and universities (SUCs).
According to Binay while the CHED and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) had released in April a joint memorandum circular guiding the grant of free tuition to SUCs for 2017, it is vague whether it will be full or partial subsidy.
“Malabo po ang polisiya ng CHED regarding free tuition in SUCs. Panawagan po natin na agaran nilang klaruhin ito, lalo na at tapos na ang enrollment period para sa maraming SUCs,” Binay said.
Senate passes bill on free tuition in state colleges last March 13, 2017
‘This passage of the Affordable Higher Education for All Act is a clear message from the Senate to every Filipino that we prioritize education, that we choose to invest, first and foremost, in our students,’ says Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV
“[This] is truly an important day in the 17th Congress,” Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV said on March 13, 2017.
He added: “We saw that this passage of the Affordable Higher Education for All Act is a clear message from the Senate to every Filipino that we prioritize education, that we choose to invest, first and foremost, in our students, our children in the next generation. And indeed... this investment as a country is the best that we can undertake.”
Senate Bill 1304 or the Free Higher Education for All Act is our right. We should be cutting tuition fees, not raising them.
Recto said free tuition is not an entitlement without a condition, and that students must still qualify for college admission because “the bill does not override admission protocols.”
Addressing fears of students in private HEIs flocking to SUCs, Recto said an amendment was included in the bill to expand and strengthen programs authorized in the UniFAST Law and make them available to HEIs.
Senator Risa Hontiveros also pointed out the inclusion of her amendment to make the qualifying examination free of charge for students.
“This amendment articulates the sentiment of our students from our youth networks, including Akbayan Youth and the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines, and frees our Filipino youth and their families – majority of whom live on less than P80,000 annually – from the additional burden of entrance exam fees, fees which can instead be redirected to be used for other school-related expenses,” she explained.
Senator Richard Gordon, meanwhile, called the bill a “game changer” because it “provides confidence to our people who feel college education is a mountain so high they’ll never reach it.”
According to Commission on Higher Education chairperson Patricia Licuanan confirmed on Friday, December 16 that an additional P8.3 billion was added to the commission’s budget for 2017 that will go solely to subsidizing the tuition of over 1.4 million students of SUCs.
“That’s purely for tuition, to purely remove tuition from the student expenses so now we they can say all SUCs will not charge tuition,” Licuanan said.
But she issued a caveat that implementation “will be a little difficult” as CHED has to find the right formula on how to divide the additional budget in the country’s 113 SUCs. “There are challenges like that but we are working on it.”
The Philippines has approved free tuition but the real challenge is on the schools’ implementation.
In a statement, Kabataan party-list said that the Filipino youth should celebrate and embrace this “mighty development,” potentially putting the Philippines at par with countries like Norway, Sweden, Finland and Germany where state schools charge no tuition.
“This simple yet game-changing move has shattered the illusion cast by naysayers and conservatives who have long sought division and spread cowardice by saying that this is not possible,” the group said.
According to Binay while the CHED and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) had released in April a joint memorandum circular guiding the grant of free tuition to SUCs for 2017, it is vague whether it will be full or partial subsidy.
“Malabo po ang polisiya ng CHED regarding free tuition in SUCs. Panawagan po natin na agaran nilang klaruhin ito, lalo na at tapos na ang enrollment period para sa maraming SUCs,” Binay said.
Senate passes bill on free tuition in state colleges last March 13, 2017
‘This passage of the Affordable Higher Education for All Act is a clear message from the Senate to every Filipino that we prioritize education, that we choose to invest, first and foremost, in our students,’ says Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV
“[This] is truly an important day in the 17th Congress,” Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV said on March 13, 2017.
He added: “We saw that this passage of the Affordable Higher Education for All Act is a clear message from the Senate to every Filipino that we prioritize education, that we choose to invest, first and foremost, in our students, our children in the next generation. And indeed... this investment as a country is the best that we can undertake.”
Senate Bill 1304 or the Free Higher Education for All Act is our right. We should be cutting tuition fees, not raising them.
Recto said free tuition is not an entitlement without a condition, and that students must still qualify for college admission because “the bill does not override admission protocols.”
Addressing fears of students in private HEIs flocking to SUCs, Recto said an amendment was included in the bill to expand and strengthen programs authorized in the UniFAST Law and make them available to HEIs.
Senator Risa Hontiveros also pointed out the inclusion of her amendment to make the qualifying examination free of charge for students.
“This amendment articulates the sentiment of our students from our youth networks, including Akbayan Youth and the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines, and frees our Filipino youth and their families – majority of whom live on less than P80,000 annually – from the additional burden of entrance exam fees, fees which can instead be redirected to be used for other school-related expenses,” she explained.
Senator Richard Gordon, meanwhile, called the bill a “game changer” because it “provides confidence to our people who feel college education is a mountain so high they’ll never reach it.”
According to Commission on Higher Education chairperson Patricia Licuanan confirmed on Friday, December 16 that an additional P8.3 billion was added to the commission’s budget for 2017 that will go solely to subsidizing the tuition of over 1.4 million students of SUCs.
“That’s purely for tuition, to purely remove tuition from the student expenses so now we they can say all SUCs will not charge tuition,” Licuanan said.
But she issued a caveat that implementation “will be a little difficult” as CHED has to find the right formula on how to divide the additional budget in the country’s 113 SUCs. “There are challenges like that but we are working on it.”
The Philippines has approved free tuition but the real challenge is on the schools’ implementation.
In a statement, Kabataan party-list said that the Filipino youth should celebrate and embrace this “mighty development,” potentially putting the Philippines at par with countries like Norway, Sweden, Finland and Germany where state schools charge no tuition.
“This simple yet game-changing move has shattered the illusion cast by naysayers and conservatives who have long sought division and spread cowardice by saying that this is not possible,” the group said.
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