YOUTH PROTEST. (Ace R. Morandante/davaotoday.com file photo)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Insensitive and elitist.
This was how Commission on Higher Education Commissioner Prospero De Vera III described the statement of CHED Chair Patricia Licuanan when she pointed out that the P8.3B allocation will not help the poor because majority have stopped schooling and are no longer enrolled in universities.
“This view…is insensitive and elitist given the demand for access and equity in higher education by many Filipinos, particularly those coming from poorer households,” he said.
De Vera explained that the inclusion of P8.3B for free tuition in public higher education in the 2017 budget is “the necessary first step in President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s election promise to help young people, particularly the poor, get university education.”
He argued that the P8.3B infusion would still help close to 150,000 poor students complete their education even if only 8% of students currently enrolled in higher education are poor.
“The new funding will also alert more students from poor households that they can enroll in universities,” he said.
De Vera also questioned the basis of Licuanan’s argument when she claimed that only eight percent of the poor are enrolled in higher education.
“How is ‘poor’ defined? And are the current tuition rates in the 114 state universities and colleges (SUCs) prohibitive only for poor households?” he asked.
“We should not look at the P8.3B additional allocation as a one-time stand alone fund to help students in SUCs. Close to P5.75B worth of scholarships and financial assistance is already imbedded in the regular CHED budget plus there is the Higher Education Development Fund,” De Vera pointed out. (davaotoday.com)
