STUDENTS in Negros Island Region (NIR) can get free tuition in four state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the region starting next year.
These schools were among the 114 SUCs nationwide covered by the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, a measure seeking to grant free tuition for students.
It was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte Thursday night.
Luzon has the most number of SUCs with 49 followed by Mindanao with 31, Visayas with 26, and Metro Manila with eight.
In Negros Island, the four SUCs include the Central Philippines State University (CPSU) in Kabankalan City, Carlos Hilado Memorial State College in Talisay City, Northern Negros State College of Science and Technology in Sagay City, all in Negros Occidental, and Negros Oriental State University in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental.
Under the newly-signed law, the government will shoulder the tuition fees, miscellaneous and all other mandatory fees of students in SUCs, local universities and colleges, and state-run technical-vocational institutions.
Scholarship grants and an improved student loan program will also be granted to students of both public and private colleges and universities.
The measure, which was approved by Congress in May, reached the President's table on July 5.
Duterte was earlier urged to veto the law.
‘Strong political will’
CPSU president Fred Maningo welcomed the development as this will benefit underprivileged college students.
He lauded Duterte for having a strong political will even though he was advised to dismiss the measure.
“Nobody wants to do this because it will entail budget,” he added.
Maningo said the development will give poor students the opportunity to lift their families out of poverty.
Currently, there are 10,000 students, excluding those in the graduate program, in CPSU.
Maningo said students enrolled in the first semester this year are already availing free tuition, though they still have to pay the miscellaneous fees.
He said the CPSU got P42 million in subsidy from the national government to cover the tuition of the college students in the first semester.
He said the subsidy was part of the P8.3-billion allocation of the national government for SUCs this year.
“It was proportionately distributed to all SUCs nationwide,” he added.
Maningo said: “If the government is supporting us, we can build more schools to cushion the influx of students to public schools due to free tuition.”
He added that there’s possibility that students from private schools may transfer to public schools because of the newly-signed law.
Landmark law
Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri said this is a “landmark legislation” that will have a lasting impact on the country's future.
“Education is an excellent investment whatever the cost to government. Whether it is hundreds of billions of pesos or only P8 billion, we will find the resources to fund it in Congress. It is my dream that in 10 years, all Filipino youth will be a college graduate," Zubiri said.
He added: “The fact that he signed this against the advice of many who wanted it to be vetoed shows he has a heart for the poor. I also see this as a marching order for us to fund this and to fully implement it as well."
"We will be scrutinizing the budget soon and we will target revenue sources to fund the tuition of students in SUCs nationwide,” he said.
The senator said the expenditures for the measure is currently not provided for in the proposed national budget for 2018.
Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Duterte took the time to decide because of the bill’s “heavy budgetary implication” but free tertiary education was “a very strong pillar or cornerstone of the President’s social development policy.”
Duterte's economic managers recently expressed concern that the government could not afford to subsidize tuition in SUCs, which was estimated at P100 billion. (With reports from CNC and SunStar Philippines)