MANILA — The most important social justice program of the Duterte Administration--Republic Act (RA) 10931, also known as the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (UAQTEA)--is now fully felt by millions of students enrolled in state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs), with the release of the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES), one of the core components of the law.
Released from the national government was the funding amounting to PHP16 billion.
The TES is given to poor but deserving students, who are enrolled in the 112 SUCs and 78 LUCs and whose names appear in the Listahanan 2.0 or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) list of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
TES beneficiaries in public universities get PHP40,000 a year, to be used for books, transportation, supplies, room and board fees, and other education-related expenses.
All students in SUCs and LUCs now enjoy free tuition and miscellaneous fees starting June 2018. The TES is an additional benefit given to financially-needy students.
“Last month, we released PHP567 million for the stipends of 13,760 continuing Expanded Student Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGPPA) scholars. Today, we are releasing the checks for SUCs and LUCs, so they can give the stipends of 117,133 new TES beneficiaries,” Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) Chairman J. Prospero E. De Vera III said.
Responding to De Vera's instructions, some SUCs have already given out the stipends of students for the first semester.
Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, Cagayan State University's vice president for administration and finance, proudly reports this on his Facebook page.
Meanwhile, Aklan State University President Danilo Abayon has organized and oriented grantees under the TES Grantees Organization (TES GO) and will release stipends right after the Christmas break.
Abayon also posted the event on his Facebook page, with students and their parents in attendance.
De Vera called on administrators of SUCs and LUCs to put in place guidance counseling, tutorials, and other student support services to ensure that TES grantees will be able to complete their degrees.
“This is the best Christmas gift given by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to our poor but deserving students. Let us ensure the implementation of RA 10931 is executed promptly and benefit those that need it most,” the CHED chair said. (CHED PR)
