Bilang suporta sa karagdagang P8-bilyon budget para sa libreng tuition ng lahat ng undergraduate sa State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), nakatakdang magsagawa ng guidelines ang Commission on Higher Education (CHED) para sa pagpapatupad ng nabanggit na budget allocation.
Sa isang official statement, sinabi ni CHED Chairperson Patricia Licuanan na suportado ng Komisyon ang libreng tuition para sa lahat ng undergraduate sa lahat ng SUCs bilang special provision sa 2017 general appropriations act.
“In the short term, this will incrementally improve enrollment rates, and will help free up financial resources for other college expenses and needs of the students,” pahayag ni Licuanan.
“From a wider perspective, this amount will eventually increase the available income of families,” dagdag niya.
At para mas maging Free College Education ang bansa, sinabi ni Licuanan na ang CHED “will work overtime to ensure that the wisdom and specific intentions of lawmakers will be accurately reflected in the Free Tuition guidelines it is set to create.”
Makikipagtulungan ang CHED, paliwanag ni Licuanan, sa Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Commission on Audit (CoA) at iba pang government agency “to ensure the legality of all the proposed processes and procedures in the guidelines.”
Aniya, makikipagtulungan din ang CHED sa lahat ng Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) “to help ensure their role under this new policy regime.”
Makikipag-ugnayan din ang Komisyon sa Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) para sa “improved complementation.”
“In light of issues and concerns raised by various sectors, CHED is aware of its responsibility to ensure that these funds are spent according to how they are intended,” sambit ni Licuanan. “It will be guided by fairness, cost recovery and alignment of incentives,” dagdag niya. (Ina Hernando-Malipot)