What You Need To Know About Free College Education In The Philippines This 2018

SUPPORTING THE COST OF TERTIARY EDUCATION

The law also provides support even for students who are studying in private higher education institutions.

Section 7 of the law states that a tertiary education subsidy shall be established for Filipino students enrolled or who shall enroll in undergraduate post-secondary programs of SUCs, LUCs, private higher education institutions, and private and state-run technical-vocational institutions.

The tertiary education subsidy may cover the following:

Tuition and other school fees in private HEIs and private or LGU-operated TVIs which shall be equivalent to the tuition and other school fees of the nearest SUC or state-run TVI in their respective areas.
Allowance for books, supplies, transportation and miscellaneous personal expenses, including a reasonable allowance for documented rental or purchase of personal computer or laptop and other education-related expenses.
Allowance for room and board costs incurred by the student
Allowance for expenses related to the disability of a disabled student.
One-time cost of obtaining the first professional credentials or qualifications.

According to the law, the subsidy shall be administered by the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) board.

UniFAST refers to the harmonized state-run and administered system of higher education and technical-vocational scholarships, grants-in-aid student loans, and other modalities of student financial assistance program under Republic Act No. 10687.

Priority shall be given to students who are part of households included in the Listahanan 2.0 ranked according to the estimated per capita household income.

Students who are not part of Listahanan 2.0 will be ranked based on their submitted documentation of proof of income.

Such prioritization, however, shall not apply to Filipino students in areas with no existing SUC or LUC campus.

Listahanan 2.0 refers to the information management of the Department of Social Welfare and Development that identifies the countries poorest.

STUDENT LOAN PROGRAM

The law also provides for the creation of a student loan program for tertiary education which shall be administered by the UniFAST Board. The amount necessary to fund the program shall be included in the budget of CHED and TESDA.

Those who availed of the loan for their undergraduate degrees may still avail of another cycle of student loan for their pursuit of graduate studies, including medicine and law only after they have fully paid the previously availed loan.

Those who did not avail of the loan program for their undergraduate studies may avail of it to pursue graduate studies, including medicine and law.

Those who did not avail of the loan for their undergraduate studies may avail of the loan program for their review expenses for licensure examinations administered by the Professional Regulation Commission.

Repayment of the loan amount or a percentage thereof will be incorporated in the person’s monthly Social Security System (SSS) or Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) contribution. The schedule of the repayment and the interest rates shall be formulated by the UniFAST Board.

Payment of the loan amount shall begin “once the beneficiary secures any gainful employment with compensation, remuneration or earnings that reaches the Compulsory Repayment Threshold.