ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Makabayan seeks probe into removal of financial aid for SHS students in SUCs, LUCs 

Makabayan seeks probe into removal of financial aid for SHS students in SUCs, LUCs 

Published Jan 7, 2024 06:59 am

At A Glance

  • Members of the Makabayan bloc have filed House Resolution (HR) No.1533, which seeks an inquiry into the discontinuation of financial assistance to senior high school (SHS) students in state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs).

Use P9.3-B confidential, intel funds in 2023 budget for P10,000 'ayuda'--CastroACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro (Screenshot from Zoom)

Members of the Makabayan bloc have filed House Resolution (HR) No.1533, which seeks an inquiry into the discontinuation of financial assistance to senior high school (SHS) students in state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs).

HR No. 1533 aims to probe the latest issuance of the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) by the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) with regard to the right to access quality education.

"Ang kalidad na naman ng edukasyon ng ating mga mag-aaral lalo na ang mga Grade 11 at 12 sa mga SUCs at LUCs ang tatamaan dito kaya marapat na imbestigahan ito,” Makabayan member ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro said in a statement on Sunday, Jan. 7.

(The quality of our students' education, especially Grades 11 and 12 in SUCs and LUCs will be affected so this should be investigated.)

“Huwag muna sanang ipatupad ang mga memo habang gumagawa ng karampatang solusyon para dito," added Castro.

(The memos shouldn't be implemented while we are working on a competent solution for this.)

In a memorandum order dated Dec. 18, 2023, CHEd announced that there should be no more GASTPE beneficiaries from SUCs and LUCs starting School Year (SY) 2023-2024, except those entering Grade 12 to finish their basic education.

"This issue highlights the failure of the government during the transition period that it even failed to simply call for a thorough consultation with all the stakeholders but now is unilaterally removing the subsidies for these students,” Castro stressed.

The teacher-solon noted that the inquiry will also determine whether or not the discontinuation of financial aid “aligns with the constitutional mandate of providing quality education for all, regardless of their economic status”.

Citing initial figures from the DepEd, around 17,700 Grade 11 students in SUCs and LUCs will be affected by the directive.

"It is the duty of the House of Representatives to exercise its oversight function in ensuring that government programs and initiatives, particularly those concerning education, are in line with the principles of equity, transparency, and accountability," Castro said.

CHEd recently said that the SHS program will be discontinued in SUCs and LUCs as it should only be offered during the transition period of the K to 12 program, covering 2016 to 2021.

Related Tags

Commission on Higher Education act teachers party-list makabayan bloc senior high school FRANCE CASTRO
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.