By Merlina Hernando-Malipot Following reports that some state universities and colleges (SUCS) are still collecting tuition and other fees despite the implementation of the free tuition law, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) said stricter monitoring for compliance will be implemented starting this year.   Newly appointed CHED officer-in-charge (OIC) Prospero De Vera III noted that a monitoring system has been in place when the “Free Tuition of 2017” under the General Appropriations Act (GAA 2017) was implemented in Academic Year June 2017 – March 2018 and AY August 2017-May 2018. “We have to make sure that they comply with submission documents and databases… I don’t think there’s any interest in the part of the SUCs not to comply because they want to get the money as fast they can because they are going to use it,” De Vera said. Starting AY 2018 onward, CHED is set to fully implement the Republic Act (RA) 10931 or Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (UAQTEA). Unlike in the “Free Tuition of 2017” where only tuition is free, the new law will also cover miscellaneous fees – among others. IRR not yet finalized De Vera admitted that the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the UAQTEA has not yet been finalized because of its complicity. This is contrary to the announcement of resigned CHED chairperson Patricia Licuanan that it has been completed and ready for signing in December. “It’s a rather complicated law,” De Vera said when asked about the status of the IRR. “We’ve never tried it no developing country in the region has tried it….and so, a lot of the things that we’re intending to do, we’re starting essentially from scratch,” he added. De Vera acknowledged that several sectors may have been “impatient” over the delay in the publishing of the IRR and stressed that there are still certain provisions that needed to be ironed out. Among these are the guidelines involving the national student loan program since Filipino students have a “bad track record” of Filipino when it comes to paying off their student loans. In the previous years, De Vera said that “Study now, Pay later” scheme became “Study now, Pay never.” He noted that the payment rate for the student loan program is lower than 10 percent. “We cannot continue with what we’re doing before because it’s going to waste public funds,” he said. De Vera stressed the urgent need for the government financial institutions to work together with private banks to “reconceptualize” the student loan program. Other provisions that need to be fine-tuned involve the provisions to requiring SUCs to come up with “affirmative action programs” to enable more disadvantaged students from regions to enroll. There is also the “return service system” that needs to be incorporated to the UAQTEA’s IRR. All of these, De Vera said, “take a little bit of effort to craft implementing guidelines on things that we have never done in this country.” However, he promised that CHED will be finishing the IRR by next week. “My commitment is that by February 22, we would finish it and have it signed and put it out publicly after that,” said De Vera during the two-day Philippines-United Kingdom Transnational Education Conference and Education Fair held from February 16 to 17. The RA 10931 will allow students and learners who will be enrolling in state SUCs and local universities and colleges (LUCs) evaluated by CHED, registered private higher-education institutions, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) accredited technological institutions and local government units (LGU)-run technical-vocational education and training (TVET) centers. The UAQTEA has four components: the Free Higher Education, Free TVET, Tertiary-Education Subsidy (TES) and the Student-Loan Program. An attached agency of CHED, the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education, has been mandated by the law to administer the implementation of the program. For its first year, the RA 10931 has been given P40-billion allocation by the government.