More students can soon continue their education in college as the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) vowed to increase the number of scholarship beneficiaries in the Indigenous Peoples (IP) communities.
CHED Chairman J. Prospero de Vera III said more scholarships for students in the IP communities are possible with the continued funding support for the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education (UAQTE) law or Republic Act No. 10931 under the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
"President Duterte has signed the 2021 GAA recently which increased funding for the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) which now includes the ‘Tulong Dunong’ program," De Vera said in a statement on Friday.
According to De Vera, many of the needy and deserving IP students are unable to avail of the TES due to lack of information and the inability of government agencies to include them in their welfare list as they live in remote upland areas.
“The Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) and CHED must now meet and link with local governments and IP groups who can assist in information dissemination and identification of beneficiaries," De Vera added.
The Higher Education chief announced the increased attention for IP students during his recent meeting with Nueva Vizcaya Gov. Carlos Padilla, IP Board Member Sammy Balinhawang, Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya Mayor Tidong Benito, and the leaders from 10 tribal groups in the province.
During the meeting, De Vera was able to explain the free higher education program to the leaders of the Ayangan, Bugkalot, Gaddang, Ikalahan/Kalanguya, Ibaloi, Isinai, Iwak, Tuwali, Kankaney, and Kalinga tribes in Nueva Vizcaya and nearby provinces, as well as get their support in identifying the students in their communities who can be assisted by the government.
The RA 10931 or the UAQTE law now provides financial assistance to close to 1.8 million students in public and private colleges and universities through free tuition and miscellaneous fees and the TES, De Vera said.
Based on the data from CHED, there are already 16,118 TES beneficiaries in Region 2 and 1,660 in Nueva Vizcaya alone, many of them are from the IP areas.
De Vera emphasized that the number of beneficiaries from IP communities must increase, adding that the Commission will visit and meet more IP leaders in the coming months.
"I will be visiting and meeting with more IP leaders and local governments in the coming months so UniFAST can fully implement the commitment of the President for our young people to complete their education," he added.