Ni: Ina Hernando-Malipot
Habang suportado ang kalalagdang “free tuition law,” sinabi ni Education Secretary Leonor Briones na dapat ikonsidera ng pamahalaan ang pagkakaloob ng subsidiya sa “small private schools” na labis na maaapektuhan.
Ayon sa dating national treasurer and public finance expert, habang ang libreng matrikula ay malaking tulong, “the challenge really is the financial side which is the issue right from the beginning.”
“I have to emphasize that I am not against universal education,” pahayag ni Briones sa Balita. “It’s the financing the side which is difficult and also the requirement of the Constitution to complementarity,” dagdag niya.
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PAG-ISIPAN ANG MAGIGING IMPACT
Sinabi ni Briones na lahat ng bansa ay nagnanais magkaloob ng libreng edukasyon sa kanilang mag-aaral “but the financing side always comes up because you want to deliver quality education and quality, of course, takes money…it is now the challenge that the economic team is facing.”
Bago pa man lagdaan ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang Republic Act 10931 o ang “Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act” kamakailan, kinonsulta si Briones sa mga posibleng mangyari.
“Even before, during the hearings about that, when I was consulted, I said, the goal was okay but the financing side is really the challenge,” diin niya.
HINDI TUNGKOL SA NEGOSYO
Taliwas sa inaakala, sinabi ni Briones na hindi lahat ng pribadong paaralan ay kumita lamang ng pera ang iniisip.
“The public has that kind of expression…we look at private schools generally as businesses but it’s not necessarily true,” aniya. “The best private schools are not really big businesses,” dagdag niya.
PAG-ALISAN NG MGA GURO AT ESTUDYANTE
Ang isa pang posibleng epekto ng “free tuition law,” ayon kay Briones, ay ang pag-alis hindi lamang ng mga estudyante kundi maging ng mga guro.
“Whatever some teachers say, their salaries are three times or four times higher than that of those in private schools,” sabi nis Briones. “So we have this exodus of teachers and if there will be an exodus of students, there will be repercussions on that balance,” dagdag niya.
