CHED eyes August school opening for SUCs

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is mulling over requiring all State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) as well as CHED-accredited Local Colleges and Universities (LCUS) to move the opening of classes to August.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, CHED OIC and spokesperson Prospero de Vera said an August school opening will allow for an unhampered implementation of the Free College Education law in compliance with the cash-based budgeting system where agencies are required to spend all their budget by December or lose it.

He said the proposed 2019 cash-based budget will run counter to CHED’s mandate to implement the Free College law since the fiscal year, which starts in January and ends in December, is incongruent with the academic year of most SUCs and LCUs.

Classes in most SUCs and LCUs are is divided to two semesters: June to October of the present year and November to March next year or December to April next year.

"The logical response is to change the academic calendar to August by 2020 so the budget works with the end of fiscal year, which is December," De Vera said.

"Because we cannot give the payment [from Free College Tuition law] to SUCs automatically, they have to claim it from us [at the end of the semester which lasts five months]," he added.

"It has to be that way because we want to make sure that only real students benefit from this."

He said they are eyeing 2020 as the academic year has already started.

De Vera also said an August school opening will be beneficial for SUCs "because under a cash-based budget within the existing academic calendar, they won’t get their income which they can use for their operation" until the end of second semester.

The Free College Education law covers 112 SUCs and 78 LCUs.

De Vera said the decision will depend on how the cash-based budget for 2019 will be implemented.

"If we will be allowed to spend our budget for the next six months the following year, then we can stick with what we have now," he said. —KBK, GMA News