Too precious to be wasted

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EDITORIAL
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January 22, 2018
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TO ENSURE that the funds allocated for the government’s free college tuition program won’t be wasted on malingerers and recidivist absentees or bulakbol students, Congress should exercise its oversight powers.

Some P40 billion from the current P3.767-trillion national budget is bankrolling the free tuition program, which is provided under Republic Act (RA) No. 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. The landmark law, which democratizes state college education, was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in August 2017. It effectively does away with the collection of tuition and other school fees, which is unprecedented.

RA 10931’s beneficiaries include students from the country’s 114 State Universities and Colleges, 16 Local Universities and Colleges accredited by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and 122 Technical-Vocational Institutions under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

Last month, CHED reported that it has already completed its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the free tuition program, which will be rolled out this 2018. While it has yet to be released, the IRR is expected to fine-tune details of RA 10931.

Congress may hold hearings after every semester to check on the implementation of RA 10931, particularly on how it is helping less fortunate families in getting their children to college. After all, this is the spirit of the law. This should help discourage recidivism from students, such as absenteeism, tardiness and cutting of classes.  It will be another victory for the law if it eventually helps get rid of these bad habits from young Filipinos in the name of free college education.

CHED and other stakeholders may also use the hearings to address the birth pangs of the implementation of the much-awaited program. We can’t expect this to be free of hitches especially during its first year of implementation, so close coordination between lawmakers, CHED and other stakeholders is vital. We can learn the problems and solve them as we go along.

Our state and local colleges and universities should not become “Iskul Bukol” even as we give free education to our students. Through its oversight function, Congress could assist CHED and the participating educational institutions in making sure that deserving students or those who truly want to study will benefit from the free college tuition program. The funds we have set aside are simply too precious to be wasted.
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