Sen. Sonny Angara said he agrees with the proposal of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno to review the government’s free college education program since it is “inefficient and wasteful.”
He said multimillionaire families should pay tuition so that more resources can go to support poorer families and students. “I think we should review it with a view to making richer families pay,” Angara said.
Sen. Chiz Escudero said he doesn’t understand why Diokno is so “stingy” when it comes to investing in the country’s “human capital.”
However, he said Diokno seems to be “liberal and magnanimous” when it comes to flood control projects which have not worked.
Escudero said P181 billion was allocated last year on flood control projects without having an impact on lessening flooding in different parts of the country.
“If at all, it is this allocation that should be reviewed and revisited,” Escudero said.
For Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, Diokno has a point.
He said free college education should be for those who want to go to college; who have the aptitude to study in college; and who can secure a competitive slot in college (determined thru competitive examination).
“Sec. Diokno has a very valid point,” Pimentel said.
Diokno earlier said he wants to revisit the present “free” college education system in state universities and colleges (SUCs) to “optimally allocate resources” that are funded mainly by taxpayers.
Diokno said this said over the weekend following his previous statement that the free access to state university education was “unsustainable.”
“Government resources funded by taxpayers’ money, by nature, are finite… The present regime is unwieldy, inefficient, and wasteful,” Diokno said in a message.
“An indicator of wastefulness is the rising dropout rate. The proposed reform also aims to reduce the threat to the robust private school system,” he added.
“The elements of my proposal are the following: first, focus on strengthening the K-12 program; second, filter, through a nationwide test, those who should be entitled to free education.”
“Third, allow those who passed the nationwide exam and are entitled to ‘free’ education to use their entitlement [a 4-year voucher] to enter or reject their assigned state university, and if the latter, choose an accredited private university; and reduce the number of existing SUCs [state universities and colleges] overtime through mergers,” Diokno said.