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MANILA – The law granting free tuition in all state universities and colleges (SUCs) may be fully implemented by June next year, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said yesterday.
Concerned agencies are drafting its implementing rules and regulations (IRR), CHED commissioner Prospero De Vera III told reporters at a briefing in Malacañang.
“The staff of CHED, TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority), DBM (Department of Budget and Management), [and] DOST (Department of Science and Technology) started working last night,” De Vera said.
“We gave marching orders to finish it (IRR) within the week so that the Commission can go over it, the other agencies can go over it, and sign it within 15 days if possible,” he added.
Students enrolled or who wish to enroll in state tertiary schools will not pay for tuition and other standard miscellaneous fees enumerated in the law.
The law covers students in 112 SUCs, 16 local government-created universities evaluated by CHED, and all state-run technical-vocational institutions.
It will also provide additional subsidy for students in the “lowest income deciles.”
A student loan fund – to be administered through various state financial institutions – will also be created for them, De Vera said.
Enrollees from both public and private schools may benefit from these additional benefits.
Meanwhile, CHED is in talks with other agencies in pooling funds, which could reach more than P20 billion, said De Vera.
The government plans to tap funds from existing scholarship and financial assistance programs of various departments, including CHED, DOST and the Department of Agriculture.
“We’re looking at the utilization of money in current scholarship programs and see how much of these can be put into the allocation for 2018,” De Vera said. And, together with Congress, “we will look for other funding sources from the 2018 National Expenditure Program.” (PNA)
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