Bill on free college entrance exam for qualified students gets Senate’s final nod

The Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to make college entrance examinations free for qualified students.

Senate Bill 2241 or the proposed Free College Entrance Examinations Act was approved with 22 affirmative votes, zero negative votes and zero abstention.

Under the proposed measure, students are exempt from paying examination fees and charges if they are a natural-born Filipino student, belong to the top 10 percent of their graduating class, and if they belong to a family whose combined household income falls below the poverty threshold as defined by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) or cannot afford to provide for their minimum basic needs duly certified as such by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The bill provides that students may avail of the waived entrance exam fees once they satisfy all other requirements specified by the private higher educational institutions (HEIs).

According to Senator Francis Escudero, sponsor of the measure, the waiver would apply to any private HEIs within the country.

The Commission on Higher Education would be given the authority to determine and impose sanctions against private HEI officials and employees who fail or refuse to comply with the proposed measure. — BM, GMA Integrated News