- Good news! Filipino college students will not have to pay tuition
- However, the Bam Aquino said flunkers will not receive free tuition
- Netizens were quick to react on Bam's condition
Bad news for college students whose favorite letter is F.
According to Senator Bam Aquino, one of the proponents of the free tuition law, students with failing marks will not be covered under the law.
“Iyung pag-uusap sa deliberation, siguro naman dapat walang bagsak ang mga estudyante kasi mahalaga po na mayroong kapalit,” Aquino told DZMM last Sunday.
Aquino said that they had considered grade requirements in granting the tuition subsidy to students. This requirement was relatively lighter than stringent conditions set in other countries or government sponsorships, such as the DOST scholarship.
He further continued, “Iyung intention po namin sa Senate, kung may bagsak then the next semester, hindi ka puwedeng mag-avail. Pero kung naayos mo naman iyun at pumasa ka na, pwede ka nang mag-avail ulit.”
Aside from the no flunkers condition, the tuition subsidy law will only cover students of Filipino citizenship taking up their first undergraduate degree. The law excludes those taking up their second course or postgraduate degrees, such as masters, doctorate, medicine, and law.
Watch the interview snippet here:
However, some netizens were quick to react on Aquino’s statement.
Under the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, students of all state universities and colleges (SUCs) are granted free tuition. President Rodrigo Duterte signed the bill last August 3, more than a month after the Congress passed the bill in May. Aside from SUCs, the law will also subsidize the tertiary education of students in TESDA-accredited institutions.
Duterte’s economic managers opposed the implementation of the bill due to its heavy budgetary requirements. According to Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, the bill will cost the government P100 billion. “The government cannot afford that,” he said.
According to Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra, despite apprehensions, Duterte also considered the long-term benefits of education. These will eventually outweigh the short-term budgetary implications, Guevarra added.
To address the budgetary challenge, the government focused its efforts in finding sufficient funding for the free tuition subsidy.
“…Congress will have to make the necessary appropriations to fund this particular, this new, well long-term project of the government on free SUC education. So that is something for the Congress to think about that will entail possibly a reallocation of resources,” Guevarra said.
Do you agree with Senator Bam Aquino’s condition of no failing grades to avail of the free tuition? Share your comments and thoughts below!
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