Recto thanks ‘teacher-in-chief’ for signing tuition law, says funding, implementation must be ironed out
I would like to thank the country’s teacher-in-chief for signing into law the free college tuition bill.
This law occupies a place among landmark social legislations. If a teacher affects eternity, so does a president who removes obstacles to learning.
By signing the law, he is in effect lecturing the nation that we should not just build, build, build for the sake of our future, but also teach, teach, teach our youth.
The challenge now is how to fund the measure, effective next year, because budget delayed is education denied.
We are confident that the 2018 proposed national budget has enough budget space to accommodate the more important mandates of the new law.
It would be wise to heed some of the reservations of the economic managers, as to the cost of fully implementing the law, as it covers not only SUCs but other tertiary education institutions like local government-run colleges and tech-voc public schools.
We should be open to a phased implementation that should begin with free tuition.
RELATED ARTICLES:
-
02 AUG 2017:Recto to Palace: Don’t just veto tuition bill, send your version
-
30 MAY 2017:Recto to Palace: Include cost of free public college in 2018 nat’l budget
-
13 MAR 2017:Explanation of Vote on Senate Bill No. 1304: Free Higher Education for All Act – Free tuition is not an unrecoverable expense; it is an investment with a high return
-
24 JAN 2017:‘Free Public College Tuition is Not Too Big to Fund’
-
23 JAN 2017:Claim that SUC students come from moneyed class baseless—Recto
-
18 DEC 2016:Recto: CHED row won’t affect easy-to-implement 8B tuition fund
-
13 DEC 2016:Statement on the Bicameral Conference Committee Approval of the National Budget for 2017
-
01 DEC 2016:Free tuition looms for 1 M state college students; Recto amendment gives P5.7 B to SUCs for new bldgs
-
07 MAY 2016:Don’t embargo P3.6 B for SUCs, Recto appeals to gov’t
-
05 MAR 2016:Recto to gov’t: Cut gas and power expense by half, and make college free
-
26 NOV 2015:Senator Recto’s Interpellation on the SUC Budget for 2016
-
24 OCT 2015:Tuition deferment sought for college students financially ruined by typhoons
-
25 MAY 2015:Free college tuition, student loans for deserving students Senate approves on 3rd reading UniFAST Act
-
19 MAY 2015:Bill granting student loans, free college tuition moving fast in Senate
SENATE BILLS/AUTHORED LAWS
-
23 JAN 2017:Free Higher Education for All Act
-
30 JUN 2016:Senate Bill No. 61: Free Public College Tuition Act of 2016
-
08 OCT 2015:Senate Bill No. 2986: Full Tuition Subsidy for Students Enrolled in State Universities and Colleges
-
15 OCT 2015:Republic Act No. 10687: Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST)