The Commission on Higher Education has made a commitment to Senator Bam Aquino for a 100 percent compliance to Free College Law.
“CHED will soon issue a memorandum prohibiting state universities and colleges [SUCs] from charging mandatory fees,” said Aquino.
“Sa batas natin, bawal nang mangolekta ng mandatory fees ang mga SUC. Dapat ituloy ang laban para sa 100 percent compliance ng mga kolehiyo,” said Aquino during the CHED’s budget hearing.
During interpellation of the CHED budget, Aquino expressed his concern that a few SUCs may still collect miscellaneous and other mandatory fees from students.
This is despite the expressed prohibition under Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.
“While going around SUCs, Aquino said they learned that some SUCs are still planning to collect miscellaneous fees,” said Aquino, principal sponsor of Republic Act 10931 during his term as chairman of the Committee on Education.
“This should not happen because there is a law saying that the payment of miscellaneous should be mandatory fee,” added Aquino. “Sa batas na ito, sinisiguro na ang kapos, makapagtatapos.”
Aquino insisted that the law should be properly enjoyed by students and their families so they can cope with daily expenses amid the high prices of food and other goods.
“Halos aabot din sa daan-daang piso ang kinokolektang miscellaneous fees sa mga estudyante, pera na dapat ginagamit nang panggastos ng pamilyang Pilipino na pambili ng pagkain at iba pang pangangailangan,” added Aquino.
In response, CHED chairman Prospero de Vera agreed to issue a draft memorandum that will clarify and warn SUCs that students should not pay a single centavo to enroll in an SUC, LUC or TESDA-run TVI
In addition, Sen. Aquino sought to expand the coverage of the free college law to cover on-the-job training, affiliation fees for nursing students, and other Related Learning Experiences (RLEs).
The senator also pushed for better support for SUCs through additional plantilla position for non-teaching personnel, such as security personnel, registrar, guidance counselors, resident ombudsman, among others.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), for its part, committed and allocated money for this endeavor and was simply waiting for the recommendation from CHED.
Aquino said once the CHED gave its recommendation, SUCs can start hiring non-teaching personnel next year.