STUDENTS from various colleges and universities on Wednesday stormed the Commission on Higher Education in Diliman, Quezon City to demand the release of the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education.
“Six months have already passed, but ChEd has not yet come up with the law’s IRRs,” Shara Mae Landicho of the Kaisa-University of the Philippines youth group told the Manila Standard.
She raised concerns over the uncertainty if students shall be covered by RA 10931 due to lack of budget allocation, or the absence of it.
She called on ChEd officer in charge Prospero de Vera III to heed their appeal.
“No more alibis, release the IRRs now,” she said.
“They could not make us blind forever. The fate of millions lie in the transparency and sincerity of the ChEd to provide universal access to college education for all Filipino youth as the law claims to provide,” she added.
Landicho is also the convenor of Free Eduk Watch, a coalition of campus groups forwarding free, accessible and quality education for all and “to end the atmosphere of uncertainty and continued spreading of a false sense of security.”
According to the youth group, along with the Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan, ChEd earlier announced only 23 of the 118 community colleges were accredited and would benefit from Republic Act 10931.
The passing of the entrance and retention policies, and finishing the undergraduate degree a year after the prescribed period were few of the many restrictions promulgated in RA 10931.
“These restrictions run smack against the very name of the law which profess to provide universal access but discriminates against community colleges that the ChEd allowed to exist in the first place. Why are they making the poor students pay for their neglect?” Landicho asked.
She said the University of the Philippines students were yesterday joined by the other students from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila at Universidad de Manila.