THE Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) have released the guidelines pertaining to the P8-billion fund for the government’s free-tuition program for 2017. It will be implemented at the start of classes this June, and then again in August.
The free-tuition program is only available in state universities and colleges (SUCs) across the country. In the National Capital Region (NCR), these include the University of the Philippines (UP), Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Technological University of the Philippines (TUP), Philippine Normal University (PNU), Philippine State College of Aeronautics (PhilSCA), Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (Earist), and Rizal Technological University (RTU). There are more than a hundred SUCs in the whole country, so our students have many options.
Another point of clarification that the CHED would like to make is that “tuition” does not refer to the entire amount charged by the school. Tuition make up about 30 percent of the total expense related to a student’s schooling. In other words, the government is exempting the SUC students from paying tuition, but they will still have to pay other fees, like miscellaneous fees, laboratory fees, etc. They still have to spend on books, uniforms, supplies and other related expenses. For many parents, this is a lot better than getting nothing—30 percent is still big savings and it is a lot better than situations in previous years when parents and students had to endure hikes in tuition. This year offers a refreshing change from that financial difficulty.
The budget for the free-tuition program is only enough for one year, which means that it is being offered for academic year 2017-2018 only. However, there are plans to make education more accessible to more students in the coming years. For those who are pushing for major education reforms in the tertiary education landscape, this is just the first step.
President Duterte made a promise to the nation that the “financially disadvantaged, but academically able”, students will be given priority. In light of this promise, SUCs are being instructed to include all of their students in the free-tuition program. If the allotted budget for an SUC is not enough to cover all enrolling students, then the SUC will have to prioritize according to the student’s economic standing. Each SUC will be given a budget based on the estimated tuition income that they submitted to the DBM. This amount is being added to their fund for the coming school year.
What is clear in the guidelines is that no SUC is authorized to charge tuition from their undergraduate students. Instead of charging the student, they will charge these tuition fees against CHED’s fund for the free-tuition program.
It is apparent that the free tuition 2017 program of the government will offer some relief for parents or guardians who spend money on their students’ tuition. Key to the successful run is the smooth implementation of the program, especially in the regions where SUCs, parents and students may not have all the necessary information to understand and apply the guidelines. I hope that it will be implemented well so that the poor, first and foremost, will benefit.