By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) lauded the extension of the validity of the 2019 budget which will help ensure the continued implementation of the free higher education (FHE) law.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
CHED Chairman J. Prospero de Vera III expressed gratitude to President Rodrigo Duterte for extending the validity of the 2019 budget - from December this year to December 2020. The passage of the said budget was delayed and forced the agencies under the government to operate on reenacted 2018 budget.
Extending the validity of 2019 budget, De Vera explained, “means the budget for 2019 can be used until December 2020” otherwise, the funds will lapse December 31, 2019 unless obligated. The 2019 General Appropriations Act (GAA), he explained, “was approved late” in April “so many of the activities could only be implemented after that.”
“We really need the extension for the implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education law (RA 10931),” said De Vera in a Facebook post.
There are four programs under RA 10931: the Free Higher Education wherein the government will provide free tuition, miscellaneous and other similar or related fees to students admitted in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and CHED-recognized Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs); the Free Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for those enrolled in state-run Technical Vocational Institutions (TVIs); the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) or grants-in-aid, and the national Student Loan Program (SLP).
In an earlier statement, De Vera noted that the RA 10931 - which is considered as a major reform in the higher education sector - will go down in history as the “biggest social justice legacy” of the Duterte administration.
De Vera, who also serves as the Chair of the Governing Board of the Unified Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST), that he programs of the landmark law are designed to “enhance access and expand choices to quality tertiary education for all Filipino learners.”
“We are making history because we want the future of this country to be better,” De Vera said. “If we invest in people, our growing population will become a very important asset of our country,” he added.