During the Senate deliberations on the 2025 budget for the State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Senator Sherwin Gatchalian emphasized the concerning effects of the recent UniFAST Memorandum Circular 5, series of 2023, which reduced the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) from originally PhP 60,000 to PhP 20,000 for grantees enrolled in private higher education institutions (HEIs), and PhP 40,000 to PhP 20,000 for those enrolled in public HEIs. This reduction will significantly impact the poorest of the poor, especially those enrolled in private HEIs, who now find themselves with subsidies only partially covering the cost of college education.
Under RA 10931, the TES provides financial assistance to qualified students enrolled in HEIs, aiming to ease financial burden on students from low-income families by offering subsidies for tuition and other educational expenses. It was established to enable the poorest of the poor, specifically those under the Listahanan 2.0, to go to university.
According to CHED, the policy to reduce the subsidy amount was meant to accommodate more grantees, given that they only had 200,000 slots available compared to the 1.6 million applications received. They thus lowered the amount to increase the number of grantees. In 2018, the TES provided PhP 60,000 for students in private HEIs (PhP 20,000 for tuition and PhP 40,000 for other educational needs), and PhP 40,000 for students in public HEIs, in light of free tuition in public HEIs.
“We don’t want the scenario where we give the subsidy and they don’t finish,” said Senator Win Gatchalian. “It’s either they will drop out in the middle of the academic year or not continue their studies altogether. The amounts should be enough for students to graduate. I believe that the PhP 60,000 and PhP 40,000 are the amounts that will incentivize as well as cover the expenses of the student in order for them to finish,” he added.
Gatchalian also emphasized the importance of students not only starting their education but also finishing it, stating, “We want our students to graduate. Marami nga tayong napapag-aral, pero hindi naman tapos. As opposed to konti lang, pero tapos. With the current reduced rate, the completion rate may drop even lower.” Currently, CHED reported that completion rates of TES grantees stand at 79.2%, but EDCOM 2 warns that this could drop with the reduced financial support.
Budget sponsor Senator Pia Cayetano echoed this concern, pointing out that financial difficulties remain one of the primary reasons for students discontinuing their studies. “Findings of EDCOM 2 show that financial challenges are the biggest deterrent to finishing,” she said. “The threat there is that bababa yung graduation rates.”
Cayetano also highlighted the need to explore creative solutions to expand access to higher education, particularly through short-term degrees. . “If you look at it in the long run, where do we get the money?” she questioned. “If students have the option to earn an associate degree after two years, they can choose to pause their studies and return later. Pero this is not widely available in many SUCs. In my opinion, CHED should only adjust the subsidy amount if an opt-out option or similar flexibility is in place, because I don’t want this 79.2% completion rate to decline further.”
“Based on EDCOM analysis, this reduction in the subsidy amount will effectively limit the choices of TES grantees, and will likely exclude the poorest of the poor from going to college, defeating the intent of the law,” said EDCOM Executive Director Dr. Karol Mark Yee. “For example, grantees could only realistically apply to five programs: Elementary Education, Technology and Livelihood Education, Criminology, Industrial Technology, and Technical-Vocational Teacher Education. Notably these same college programs are the ones that are already, very much oversubscribed.”
EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson, Senator Alan Cayetano also urged CHED to review and assess the best allocation of resources for student support. “Perhaps CHED should do a study kung magkano talaga ang dapat i-allocate sa subsidies, scholarships, and other aids. It’s not really on whether we should spend more on education, but rather on what is the right mix of student loans, aids, and scholarships, and what is the role of the SUCs vs. the private,” he suggested.
“I also urge CHED, as well as each and every SUC to work closely with EDCOM 2. With one more year remaining, take advantage of EDCOM 2. Kasi we can talk about the problems plaguing our education system from basic to tertiary, but maybe not in a formal setting but in a workshop setting. Baka mas marami pa tayong ma-achieve that way; even your budgeting process will improve,” said another EDCOM 2 Commissioner Senator Koko Pimentel, echoing the concerns of other EDCOM Commissioners on the subsidy cut.
Previously, EDCOM has pushed for a special provision to require UNIFAST to prioritize the poorest of the poor, or the 4Ps and Listahanan categories, in the TES given findings that the proportion of the poorest receiving the subsidy declined from 75% in 2018, to just 23% in 2023. This has since improved the share of the poorest to 35% in 2024.
