THE University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, has announced the temporary suspension of the collection of tuition for the first semester of academic year 2017 to 2018 while waiting for the decision on a plan for a tuition-free policy.
“There will be no collection of tuition until government is clear about their plan,” Chancellor Michael said in the Philippine Collegian, UP’s official student newspaper.
“They are not clear yet as to how much the subsidy there will be, partial or complete, and who will be eligible. Until they clarify, we will not collect any amount from students.”
The Commission on Higher Education and Department of Budget and Management earlier said state universities and colleges should give priority to the beneficiaries of government student financial assistance programs in implementing the tuition-free policy with an P8-billion allocation in the 2017 budget.
CHED Commissioner Prospero de Vera III asked Tan’s announcement of a no-tuition policy.
He said he did not know what Tan meant when he said the government was not clear about its plan on the tuition-free policy.