BACOLOD City – Students of the Bacolod City College (BCC) no longer have to pay tuition and miscellaneous fees, Rep. Greg Gasataya said.
BCC is now covered by the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, Gasataya announced in a news conference on Sunday.
The lone district congressman said he got the information from Commission on Higher Education (CHED) regional director Cesar Medina early Sunday morning.
A “dream come true” was how Gasataya described CHED’s recognition of BCC as one of the higher education institutions in the country that may benefit from the free tuition law.
Any BCC student, regardless of residency, need not pay tuition and miscellaneous fees, said the congressman.
Gasataya said he will meet with CHED and the city government this week to discuss how the Commission will reimburse BCC students who already made payments for enrolment in the first semester of this academic year.
The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act provides for free tuition for students in state universities and colleges (SUCs), as well as local universities and colleges (LUCs) and state-run technical-vocational institutions (TVIs).
SUCs refer to “public higher education institutions established by national laws which are financed and maintained by the national government and are governed by their respective independent boards of trustees or regents,” the law stated.
LUCs, meanwhile, are “Commission on Higher Education-accredited public higher education institutions established by local government units through an enabling ordinance financially supported by the LGU concerned.”
BCC, a community college run by the city government, is an LUC.
TVIs, on the other hand, “provide non-degree programs aimed at preparing technicians, paraprofessionals and other categories of middle-level workers,” stated the law.
Eligible for free tuition and other fees under the law are “students in SUCs and LUCs, provided that they passed the entrance examination and other admission and retention requirements,” and “students in state-run TVIs under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.”
The law also provides a mechanism for students with financial capacity who want to opt out of the subsidy program for tuition and other fees.
SUCs, LUCs and government-run TVIs shall report tuition payments and contributions collected to CHED and TESDA, the law said./PN
