Diokno: Free tuition for gov’t scholars next year

DIOKNO

President Rodrigo Duterte has signed the bill granting full government subsidy to tuition in state universities and colleges (SUCs).

Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra made the announcement on Friday during a press conference in Pasay City.

“Since many people have been waiting for the President’s action for the very important enrolled bill that was passed by Congress last May entitled Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education, I am pleased to announce that last night, August 3, 2017, the President signed the enrolled bill,” Guevarra said.

The bill, which was passed by Congress in May, was transmitted to the Office of the President on July 5 for the President’s signature.

Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said Friday that Republic Act No. (RA) 10931 or the free tertiary education law in state universities and colleges (SUCs) will be implemented next year.

As such, the law will also entail changes in the proposed 2018 national budget, Diokno said.

“The law is forward looking. It cannot be applied retroactively. Hence, in the immediate term we’re talking of academic year 2018–2019 — strictly speaking, the first semester of academic year 2018–2019,” Diokno explained.

University of the Philippines-Cebu (UPC) Chancellor Liza Corro said that in their school alone, around 1,000 students will benefit from the government subsidy.

“This is great for the students who deserve it, and I am now asking them to return the favor by serving the people back,” Corro added.

“My immediate concerns are those enrolled in the 114 SUCs. There should be no expansion in student population. The estimate has to be preceded by the number of predetermined student who are chosen, say ‘X,’ on the basis of a nationwide test administered by the Commission on Higher Education. Unless we know ‘X,’ we can’t give an estimate,” Diokno said.

Also, “there will be changes in the President’s 2018 budget, which has some P16 billion in various types of scholarships,” Diokno added.

During the first congressional hearing on the proposed P3.767-trillion budget for 2018 last Tuesday, economic managers said a whopping P100 billion will be needed to fully subsidize tuition in SUCs.

Diokno said he will head the committee that will prepare the implementing rules and regulations of RA 10931.

Instead of free tuition in SUCs, the Duterte administration’s economic managers had been pushing for the implementation of a 2014 law that unified and harmonized all financial assistance for students.

Economic managers had said that the government must fully implement the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education or UniFAST under RA 10687.