President Duterte To Provide P8.3 Billion Free Education For The Poor Filipino Students This Year
The inclusion of P8.3 Billion for free tuition in public
higher education in the 2017 budget is the necessary first step in President
Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s election promise to help young people, particularly the
poor, get university education.
This is the statement issued by Commission on Higher
Education (CHED) Commissioner Prospero de Vera.
Studies all over the world show that higher levels of
educational attainment are strongly correlated with better employment and
higher income.
Every poor Filipino student who is able to enroll in
college, increases his/her chance to get employed, helps his/her family, and
becomes a productive member of society.
The P8.3 Billion infusion would help close to 150,000 poor
students complete their education.
The new funding will also alert more students from poor households that they can enroll in universities.
The new funding will also alert more students from poor households that they can enroll in universities.
“We should not look at the P8.3 Billion additional
allocation as a one-time stand-alone fund to help students in SUCs. Close to P5.75 Billion worth of scholarships and financial
assistance is already imbedded in the regular CHED budget plus there is the
Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF),” said de Vera.
On top of the free tuition, students can also get the much
needed stipends for their day to day needs in time for the June opening of
classes.
Once the free public higher education initiative is
implemented this year, we can identify any gaps and compute the additional
costs of providing assistance to students.
“Then we can go back to Congress to ask for more funding to
fully implement President Duterte’s commitment that no student will be barred
from getting a university education on account of financial need,” added de
Vera.
Source: Newswatch
President Duterte To Provide P8.3 Billion Free Education For The Poor Filipino Students This Year
Reviewed by Yen
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January 24, 2017
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