CHED tells SUCs: Expedite release of stipend for gov’t scholars

Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairman Prospero De Vera III has ordered all state universities and colleges (SUCs) to speed up the release of stipend for government scholars.

De Vera made the call in reference to the case of the Expanded Students’ Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA) scholars who have faced delay in the release of their state-sponsored allowances that will allow them to stay in school.

The ESGP-PA beneficiaries are students belonging to families listed in the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), which gives cash grants to the poorest of the poor families, provided they comply with conditions promoting human development goals.

“I continue to get complaints from ESGP-PA scholars that they have not received their stipend since the start of the semester. SUCs must prioritize the submission of documents, claim the cheque from CHED, and release the stipends to make sure our students can continue their studies,” De Vera said in a statement.

De Vera was referring to the new system put in place in light of the enactment of the Free College Education Law wherein the Department of Budget and Management lodges the budget to the CHED instead of directing it to the SUCs.

This means that the CHED will pay out the allocation due to SUCs in the form of a check once the SUCs are able to submit proper billings, which include the requirements to validate the scholar’s details attached for verification.

Prior to the passage of the Free College Education Law, the selection and validation of ESGP-PA scholars were done by the DSWD, while the funding was directly lodged by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the SUCs.

To date, a total of 55 SUCs with complete billing and documentary requirements have been issued check payments for their ESGP-PA scholars totaling to P250 million.

Of the 55, only 44 SUCs have claimed their checks while the checks of 11 SUCs remain unclaimed with the CHED.

There are 18 more SUCs that will be issued their check payments amounting to P163 million.

As of November 6, the Secretariat in charge of implementation of Free College Education law has already endorsed the payment of P172 million to 24 SUCs for processing to CHED Administrative and Finance Management Service.

Also on Tuesday, De Vera said that at least 13,760 ESGP-PA scholars were automatically included under the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) component of the Free College Education law.

The TES program provides a government subsidy of P40,000 a year to each scholar  enrolled in a public university and P60,000 a year to each scholar studying in a private school.

Out of the P40-billion national budget for 2019, P16 billion is allotted for the implementation of the Free College Education Law for the TES.

The Free College Education Law also provides that all continuing ESGP-PA scholars are prioritized as beneficiaries of the TES. — MDM, GMA News