The Universal Access to Tertiary Education Act of 2017, approved Monday by a congressional bicameral committee, will be forwarded to Malacañang for the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte, who earlier wrote Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez certifying the urgency of the bill.
Albay Rep. Joey S. Salceda, principal author of House Bill 2771 that served as the working draft of the approved version, said that as early as the second semester of school year 2017-2018, students in all state universities and colleges, local community colleges, and those accredited by the Technical Educational and Skills Development Authority will no longer have to pay tuition and miscellaneous fees.
The measure also provides subsidies and loans for students in private colleges.
Salceda, who was the driving force behind the measure, cited the Albay model for the measure he pioneered in the province where he was governor for nine years until last year, when he returned to Congress.
Salceda stressed the value of higher education in economic development. Tertiary education, he said, is one of the three principal factors that enabled Albay to reduce its poverty incidence from 41 percent to 15 percent.
His massive college scholarship program benefited some 89,000 graduates of baccalaureate and related degrees. Together with infrastructure and tourism development, it served to distribute economic gains and push development in Albay.
Under the upcoming law, Salceda said if a youth “from a poor family in Rapurapu (an isolated Albay town) is admitted to Management Engineering at the Ateneo de Manila, there should be no economic reason stopping him from attaining his dream for a better life by completing his course and thus be competitive in the professions and the jobs of the future.”
This, he said, is the gold standard of the new law, which he described as a “landmark for social equality, a milestone in nation building, and a key to youth development.”
Salceda explained that in cities and towns where there are no available SUCs, students who enroll in private colleges and universities will also be subsidized by the government, equivalent to the cost of tuition and miscellaneous fees equal to the nearest SUCs.
The new law also provides free tuition and miscellaneous fees in all technical vocational institutions accredited or under TESDA, except for “unique” learning materials chosen by the student, which are not included in the government-listed free expense items.
The new law allocates some P20 billion subsidy for those who will enroll in public, private and community colleges accredited by the Commission on Higher Education, for students from the poorest (decile 1) to middle income class families (decile 9) except those in the top 10 percent, to underwrite their cost of living and other school expenses.
The measure also appropriates some P10 billion for student loans for those from the lowest to middle income class families who enroll in CHED-accredited public, private and community colleges, except those in the top 10 percent, giving priorities to those belonging to Decile 1 to Decile 9.
The loans, which could be used for cost of living allowances and other school expenses, will be repaid when the student-beneficiary had finished his studies and got employed with a salary over P360,000 per year.
Salceda said those who were not able to avail these benefits in college or technical vocational courses, could still use them for their review classes in preparation for the Professional Regulation Commission examinations, and further studies in law, medicine or masteral and doctoral courses.
He emphasized that the Universal Access to Tertiary Education Act is a “real game changer that will provide lasting effects on the country’s growth and a genuine contribution to nation building.”
The House unanimously approved the consolidated bill from Salceda’s HB 2771 and two other measures by party-list Reps. Antonio Tinio (Teachers) and Sarah Jane Elago (Kabataan), before it was brought to the bicameral committee and merged with the Senate’s version of the proposal.