The Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the Free Tuition Policy embedded in the 2017 General Appropriations Act (GAA) is ready for submission by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) within the week.

 

This was disclosed by CHED Chairperson Patricia B. Licuanan as she assured the public and the higher education stakeholders that the Free Tuition Policy will be implemented in accordance with the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte.

 

The Task Force that formulated the IRR was composed of representatives from CHED, DBM, the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC), Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), and staff from the Senate and the House of Representatives.

 

Licuanan said CHED will work closely with DBM to ensure that the P8.3 billion budget for the Free Tuition Policy will benefit the “financially disadvantaged but academically able students”, as ordered by President Duterte. The body also took into consideration DBM’s reminder that “the right to choose a profession or course of study is still subject to fair and equitable admission and academic requirements,” in compliance with the President’s order.

 

With all the major issues already settled by the higher education stakeholders, the IRR will undergo review by DBM and is expected to be signed in February. Immediately after signing, SUCs shall submit to CHED the operating budget required by the law and the appropriate payments shall be given in advance to help the SUCs prepare for the coming academic year.

 

“We will conduct a comprehensive information campaign soon after to ensure that deserving students have the chance to benefit from this game-changing policy in higher education,” Licuanan said.

 

CHED Chairperson Licuanan added that the free tuition initiative will boost CHED’s objective to expand access to quality higher education in the country as she noted that the Commission has continuously worked to extend and expand scholarship grants and financial assistance to poor but deserving students in higher education institutions.

 

As of 2016, CHED’s Student Financial Assistance Programs (StuFAPs) has reached P5.6 billion, supporting 289,045 students nationwide, representing an increase of about 400 percent since 2010.

 

Meanwhile, the Expanded Student Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA), which was specially designed for the country’s poorest of the poor, provided support to 40,453 students in SUCs starting in AY 2014-2015, amounting to P2.5 billion annually.The Program was launched in 2012-2013 to provide for all the schooling needs of the students and the livelihood needs of their families so that there would be no excuse for the grantee not to finish college education. The program is jointly undertaken with the Department of Social and Welfare Development (DSWD) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

 

Issued this 24th of January 2017 at the Higher Education Development Center Building, C.P. Garcia Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City.

For the Commission:

 

PATRICIA B. LICUANAN, Ph.D.
Chairperson