Vouchers for kids of displaced OFWs to stem dip in enrollment –CHED

A special voucher program for the children of displaced overseas Filipino workers would help reduce the expected dropout rate among college students, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said on Friday.

"We would like to ask the Senate to seriously consider the possibility of a significant dip in enrollment when classes [start] in August," CHED chair Prospero De Vera said during a hearing with the Senate's Finance and Economic Affairs Committees.

"That dip in enrollment is caused by, number one, the economic downturn and its effects on families and, number two, the tremendous number of OFWs going home who might not be redeployed in time," De Vera explained.

Extending tuition subsidies to these displaced OFWs' children would not only prevent them from dropping out of school, but also prevent the collapse of private higher education institutions (HEIs).

"Pwede namang one-shot grant muna para may pambayad sila. The expectation is next school year, hopefully, the economy has picked up," De Vera said.

"We can work with the Department of Labor [and Employment] because they have the database on the returning OFWs and grant a one-time voucher to at least one child of every OFW. May pambayad man lang ng tuition pagdating ng pasukan," he added.

Senators Sonny Angara and Imee Marcos suggested that CHED should also coordinate with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to avoid duplication of such educational grants.

During the same hearing, the Government Service Insurance System also said that it is planning to craft a special educational loan for its members who had children in college amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

De Vera also appealed to the Senate to consider providing wage subsidies to thousands of affected employees in private HEIs.

"There are more than 50,000 part-time faculty members in higher education institutions who suffer because there is 'no teach, no pay' for them. They are not included in any amelioration program of the government," he said.

"We have to help them, especially because the opening of classes for private universities is moving to August, so, many of them have not had anything since the end of the semester all the way to August. That's about half a year already," he added. — DVM, GMA News