After the passage of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, Senator Bam Aquino called on education stakeholders and leaders to unite and work together for education reform to give more Filipino students a chance at a better future.
“Now that we’ve passed our major reform, giving more Filipinos access to a college education through the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, we must move to strengthen the quality of education in the country,” said Sen. Bam during his speech at the 2017 Philippine Education Summit.
At the event, various stakeholders including the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Deveopment Authority presented their accomplishments over the past year, the challenges that lay ahead and their plans to improve access to quality education in the Philippines.
“Let’s work together to ensure that there is a seamless transition from student to employee or entrepreneur through strong academic-industry linkages,” added Aquino.
During his time as chairman of the Committee on Education in the 17th Congress, Aquino worked with stakeholders in the crafting of reforms that can give more Filipinos access to quality education.
While his chairmanship was a short one, Sen. Bam spearheaded the passage of one of the most important education reforms in the country–Republic Act 10931 or Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which he pushed in the Senate as principal sponsor and co-author.
The law provides free education to students in state universities and colleges, local universities and colleges and Tesda-run vocational schools. Aside from tuition fees, the government will shoulder miscellaneous and all other mandatory fees.
Scholarship grants will be made available to students of both public and private college and universities. It also provides a new and improved student loan program, where students can apply for financing for other education expenses.
In addition, students taking post-graduate studies can avail of the new and improved student loan program and scholarships under the law.
During his speech, Aquino gave his commitment to ensure that the law will be funded and implemented properly to “ensure that every Filipino has access to quality education and better opportunities to make a living.”
