MANILA – Around 1.3 million college students need not pay tuition and miscellaneous fees starting this month, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) commissioner Prospero De Vera said.
About 200 higher education institutions (HEIs) signed with CHED an agreement on free tuition in state and local universities and colleges and technical-vocational institutions.
President Rodrigo Duterte witnessed the signing of the memorandum of agreement on Wednesday in Malacañang.
CHED struck the deal for the implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act with 112 state universities and colleges and 78 local universities and colleges.
Of the 1.3 million college students, 300,000 are beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. They will receive additional subsidy from the government.
De Vera thanked Duterte and Congress for “doing what no administration in the past has done or even attempted to do.”
Duterte said the law opens doors to “countless opportunities that will lead to empowerment, success and realization of individual aspirations.”
Despite opposition from economic managers, the President signed the measure seeking free college tuition into law on Aug. 3 last year.
The deal between CHED and the HEIs “is a crucial step in helping young Filipinos to fulfill their dreams of becoming productive members of the country’s workforce,” said Duterte.
A free, quality tertiary education is “a significant step toward improving the lives of underprivileged and marginalized Filipinos,” he added.
Duterte recognized Congress, CHED, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the HEIs, and technical-vocational institutions for helping push for the law’s passage.
In addition, the President stressed that all citizens must pay proper taxes to raise revenues to fund initiatives such as the free college tuition law. (PNA)
