A BILL granting automatic eligibility for the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) to senior high school graduates from Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) households is now under Senate review.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian highlighted Senate Bill 1894, which seeks to amend Republic Act (RA) 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, to ensure that students from the poorest families are automatically covered by TES once admitted to college or technical-vocational institutions.
Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, said students from low-income households must be prioritized in implementing free higher education.
Under the bill, students who complete secondary education from 4Ps households, as certified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), will automatically qualify as TES beneficiaries upon enrollment in any Commission on Higher Education (Ched)-recognized higher education institution or Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda)-recognized technical-vocational institution.
The proposal builds on special provisions in the 2024 and 2025 national budgets that prioritize 4Ps beneficiaries for TES slots, amid concerns over the declining share of grantees from poor households.
The measure also directs the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education Act (UniFAST) Board, in coordination with Ched, Tesda, the Department of Education (DepEd) and other agencies, to establish a monitoring and validation system to ensure grants go to qualified beneficiaries. / PNA