In observance of the first National Higher Education Day, Senator Win Gatchalian on Tuesday called for improvements in the implementation of the “Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act” under Republic Act 10931, or the free college tuition law.
The chair of the Senate basic education committee said the reimbursement of tuition and miscellaneous fees should be automated to prevent delays, which would spare both schools and students from taking on additional financial burden.
Gatchalian cited a 2019 discussion paper from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), which pointed out that when tuition and miscellaneous expenses are not reimbursed, schools would absorb the deficiency or students would have to shoulder the costs.
State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) have to submit their billing requirements before they receive their reimbursements.
Before the implementation of the Free Tuition Law, fees form part of schools’ income and are used for operations. In September 2020, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) reported that 12 SUCs and LUCs have not received reimbursement for tuition and miscellaneous fees because of compliance issues.
The senator added that the imposition of quarantine measures amid the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the need for automation to help streamline the processing of documents’ submission and distribution of funds.
Last year, Gatchalian filed Senate Bill 1793 or the Full Digital Transformation Act of 2020, which seeks to provide full, integrated E-Government (eGov) services to the public by the end of 2022.
He said the proposed measure would help CHED, as well as SUCs and LUCs, promote zero-contact policy and facilitate the more efficient delivery of services.
Gatchalian bats anew for improved Free Tuition Law implementation
