Bam Aquino questions CHED’s failure to implement Free Tuition Act

Senator Bam Aquino questioned Thursday the failure of the Commission on Higher Education to implement the Free Tuition Act which could alleviate the plight of poor students and their families.

"Hindi malinaw kung bakit hindi nila ito na-i-implement because legally, pasok na 'yan. It was signed by the President [Rodrigo Duterte], August 3, effective August 18. Therefore, itong second semester, pasok na pasok na siya doon sa benefits ng batas,” Aquino said in an interview with GMA News TV’s News To Go.

He said P41 billion has been allocated by government for the implementation of the law, which CHED has failed to do. The amount was sufficient to cover the tuition and other fees in SUCs starting second semester of 2017-18.

“P41 billion ang naka-pondo po dito and we made sure it was fully funded. P41 billion 'yung covered ng scholarships and will cover your free tution. Iba pa 'yon. 'Yung free tuition mo, it can cover the second semester which is the current semester and it will cover school year 2018-2019,” he said.

“Hindi ito problema ng pera, hindi ito problema ng legality. Problema ito ng implementation,” he said.

As a result, state universities and colleges still collect school fees, he said.

“Hindi tution, but other school fees which is part of the benefits ng batas. Because in some schools, mas mataas pa 'yung school fees mo kesa doon sa tuition fee,” he said.

He said the P41 billion fund remains untouched.  Of the amount, P23.3 billion is for the tuition fee for the second semester while P17.7 is for the scholarships.

“'Yung P17.7 billion is for scholarships so that's a huge amount for scholarships even students from private universities puwedeng maka-access diyan. 'Yung P23.3 billion that's for the second semester, kasya. School year 2018-2019, kasya. And yet, hindi pa rin ito napapatupad. So ang panawagan namin, please, ipatupad ninyo na.

The senator said if CHED cannot implement the law, they should at least refund the students.

“Mag-refund na lang kayo. Kasi they are saying na hindi pa sila handa. It's been six months passed hindi pa rin sila handa. Sige na lang, mag-compromise na lang tayo,” he said.

“So it's really a big question mark in our heads and siyempre sa mga estudyante, sa mga magulang nila na umuutang pa, nangingibang-bansa, kumukuha ng dalawang trabaho. It's also a big question. Now, panawagan namin, kung meron kayong kailangan ayusin sa inyong bureakrasya, ayusin na ninyo pero please, mag-commit naman kayo na mag-refund. Dahil 'yung perang 'yan, pinondohan na namin 'yan para sa mga estudyante. Ibigay niyo na,” he said.

The Senate has adopted Resolution No. 620, which Aquino introduced, to rally the Senate to express a united front in support of the full implementation of the free college law.

The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act provides free tuition and miscellaneous fees to students in SUCs, local universities and colleges (LUCs) and TESDA-run vocational schools. Under the law, students of both public and private college and universities can also apply for scholarship grants and student loans. — BM, GMA News