Students in six public higher education institutions in SOCCKSARGEN Region will benefit from Free Quality Tertiary Education Law.
It’s Free Tertiary Education for all, but if you belong to the marginalized sectors, the government will enhance your access to the four major programs under the Republic Act 10931 or the “Universal Access for Quality Tertiary Education Act” (UAQTEA).
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Unified Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) Secretariat emphasized this on Friday during the tenth leg of the Nationwide Information Caravan on R.A. 10931 in General Santos City.
Under UAQTEA, the government will provide free tuition, miscellaneous and other similar or related fees to students admitted in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and CHED-recognized Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs). The law will also provide a Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) or grants-in-aid, free Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for those enrolled in state-run Technical Vocational Institutions (TVIs), and a national Student Loan Program (SLP).
Higher Education and Technical-Vocational Education stakeholders from SOCCKSARGEN Region attended the Nationwide Information Caravan on R.A. 10931 in General Santos City.
CHED Commissioner Dr. Ronald Adamat, an indigenous Teduray himself from Upi, Maguindanao, explained how the UniFAST Governing Board came up with a provision in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the law to help disadvantaged students, including Lumads, avail of the four programs under UAQTEA.
“SUCs and CHED-recognized LUCs are mandated to come up with affirmative action programs to enhance the admission of students coming from marginalized sectors. That’s enshrined in the IRR of R.A. 10931,” Adamat said Furthermore, UniFAST Secretariat Officer-in-Charge Executive Director Atty. Carmelita Yadao-Sison discussed that marginalized students including those from indigenous groups, persons with disabilities, students from public schools, and students from depressed areas, are among those to be given priority.
CHED Commissioner Dr. Ronald Adamat assured members of the indigenous groups that the government will enhance their access to Free Quality Tertiary Education.
“Offices like the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples…have their own list. They know who to prioritize. Also, the National Council for Disability…they are also the ones giving us data. Of course, Department of Education is telling us kung sino-sino ang nasa Senior High Schools na kailangan ng tulong. Even President Rodrigo Roa Duterte had expressed to CHED Officer-in-Charge Popoy De Vera his concern that students living in war-torn areas should really be given educational benefits,” Sison explained.
UniFAST Secretariat Officer-in-Charge Executive Director Atty. Carmelita Yadao-Sison discussed that SUCs and LUCs must have affirmative action programs to help the marginalized sectors.
In Mindanao, there are more than two million Lumads or natives based from the latest census. Some of these indigenous groups can be found in Cotabato, Kidapawan, and Koronadal in SOCCKSARGEN Region.
SOCCKSARGEN Region students showcased a T’boli dance during the caravan.
The following are the Region XII-based public HEIs that will provide Free Higher Education starting Academic Year 2018-2019:
- Cotabato City State Polytechnic College
- Cotabato Foundation College of Science and Technology
- Sultan Kudarat State University
- University of Southern Mindanao
- Glan Institute of Technology
- Makilala Institute of Science and Technology