A students’ group pressed anew for the distribution of P10,000 financial aid for students struggling to study amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
In a statement, the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) said the aid will help students cover a portion of the costs of online learning, including a decent cell phone, tablet, and a stable Internet connection.
“Filipino families now struggle to sustain their children's education, on top of rising prices of commodities and lack of relief, in the face of financial instability. As such, students are forced to drop out due to their inability to cope with the costs of education,” NUSP stressed.
“While we continue our fight for #LigtasNaBalikEskwela, the state's insistence on the online learning modality for more than a year has exhausted the savings of a regular low-income Filipino family,” it added.
Citing multiple reports, NUSP said there are different universities that have removed their scholarships, which further burdens scholars “who don’t have enough resources to sustain their education.”
The group also decried the 654 of 901 approved tuition and other fee increases (TOFI) applications by the Department of Education (DepEd) in 2020 and the impending tax increase for various educational institutions.
“ also add up to the threats to the accessibility of education,” NUSP said.
“We implore the help of the student councils to echo this call and join us as we lobby the 10K student aid to Commission on Higher Education, DepED, local government units, the Congress, and the Office of the President.”
Various student groups and networks have been lobbying for the provision of a one-time cash subsidy of P10,000 for each student and those who dropped out during the pandemic.