Duterte signs law on free college tuition

[Lee2]

Would this work? I know that there are many costs besides tuition when a student goes to college, who would pay those costs?

Congress assures funding for 2018 implementation


MANILA, Philippines - Free education in state colleges and universities edged closer to reality after President Duterte signed into law the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.

Duterte signed Republic Act 10931 on Thursday night or hours before it would have lapsed into law today, despite concerns raised by his economic team about funding for the program.

The President asked Congress to make the necessary appropriations for the law, which guarantees free tuition and other miscellaneous fees for students in 112 state universities and colleges (SUCs) across the country.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno stressed the law would take effect next school year.

Citing figures posted by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), senior deputy executive secretary Menardo Guevarra said the initial P16 billion allotted for the program would be “manageable” to cover tuition and miscellaneous fees.
MORE: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/08/05/1725170/duterte-signs-law-free-college-tuition

[copusmaximus]

yes the tuition is free but college fees are not a niece of my gf got hers free then payed college 10k extra in semester fees they will always find ways to get even more money from the poor that are trying to get ahead extra costs can kill the education here so fast. i heard so many stories of had to quit school ran out of money could not pay for a test . imagine every test you take you need to pay extra for omg if that happened in usa there would be riots schools burned down. lol but it is what it is here and they just likeeverything else just accept it as reality and move on . also side note i know teachers here and they tell me that its the shool making money they get very poor pay compared to what they bring in to the schools.

[Lee2]

Hope it works out for a lot of Filipinos but I doubt it will.

Who can avail of free college tuition under new law?
Read the list at the link below
http://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/08/04/17/who-can-avail-of-free-college-tuition-under-new-law

[medic3500]

I hope and pray this works out. I have three teenage step children two who are consistently in the top 5 of their class standings, number two is not far behind but not into books but can solve a Rubrics Cube in under 30 seconds every time.

[Sam218]

Free education is already in effect. Although it is indeed helpful as it lessens the financial burden to poor families with kids going to college, it is somehow much better if they also cover the miscellaneous fees which are often more costly than the tuition itself. But generally, it's a good program. It gives hope to kids with big dreams but comes from families that don't have enough funds to send them to school. It's one of the incredible investments that the government made. Hopefully, the government will also look into the unemployment rate in the country and do something about it.

[lost_in_samoa]

If everyone goes to college ..... does going to college mean anything ?

[Sam218]

In the Philippines,  going to college is a big thing especially to the poor. They believe it's one of the ways for them to get out of poverty. If you have a degree, the chances of getting a good paying job is higher.

[Peter]

In the Philippines,  going to college is a big thing especially to the poor. They believe it's one of the ways for them to get out of poverty. If you have a degree, the chances of getting a good paying job is higher.

Sam,

Unfortunately, a lot of employers, especially in the catering/food industry and large retail outlets, which pay minimum wages and practise "endo" contracts, appear to insist on their employees having a degree. Doesn't really matter which one, but a degree is normally required in a lot of cases just to get the foot in the door.

Of course a medical, engineering or legal degree may be the door opener to a lucrative career for those who came top/near the top of their professional board exams and are "self-starters", but other degree holders may find it increasingly hard to fulfill their dreams, unless they have lots of practical experience under their belts, or know someone who knows someone!

My tboughts of course in our area.

Peter

[lost_in_samoa]

In the Philippines,  going to college is a big thing especially to the poor. They believe it's one of the ways for them to get out of poverty. If you have a degree, the chances of getting a good paying job is higher.

I suggest that you research this subject more.  Here are some thoughts that may change your mind.

1.)  What about all of the Filipino families who have sacrificed, suffered OFW separation, made good decisions day in and day out,  really strived for decades to get a higher education? 

It erases their effort. 

Free college tuition levels the playing field between the motivated and UN-motivated.  It devalues discipline.

2.)  There is no such thing as "free college tuition".  The institutions do not provide for free.  Instructors are not on a pro bono basis.

There is only additional taxes.  And the graft that goes with that.

3.)  If the government is the main source of funding then the institutions and instructors are motivated to provide "pro" government bias.

In the current administration that may be a good thing.  But what about 4 years from now?  What if another Marcos, Pol Pot,  Stalin,  Amin, or Obama rises to power?  Is government funded education a good thing then?  Think Hitler-Jugend.

4.)  If the government is the main source of funding, then revenue of institutions and instructors, will be fixed. 

Skilled instructors will migrate away from the "4 P's" system to others that pay more.  Brain drain.

5.)  If everyone has a degree ..... having one does not distinguish between skilled or unskilled. 

Every Tito, Jojo, and Boy will have a diploma.  So diploma's are not special.  In fact it will become a requirement to have a college diploma to flip Pancit at Jolly Bee's.

It diminishes the value of higher education. 

It adds a significant requirement across  the employment spectrum, and further isolates those who for whatever reason do not have a college certificate.

[Hestecrefter]

With lost's comments I find myself in respectful agreement. 

When I lived there years ago, I seem to recall seeing some of the effects of which he speaks already at in play in the Phils - college grads doing low level work that should not require a college diploma.  For example, I think the (then) ubiquitous "promo girls" in some of the Manila department stores were college grads.  A former gf there had a brother who graduated as an architect.  I would not expect the Phils to employ office towers full of architects.  His ambition became to drive a Coke truck.  Last I saw he was running a sari sari store (for which I purchased all of the initial inventory).

[JoeLP]

I agree with lost's remarks considering the effect it'll have in the Philippines.  Crying out loud college grads are working at Jolibee as a cashier, cook, and other base jobs that high school kids handle in a place like the USA.  The local Jolibees, pizza chains, and other fast food joints actually require applicants to at least be college students.
Same in pharmacies and other such places.  Unless your family owns a local business the chance of you working there without a college education is low.  At least local to where I live currently.
At the same point, the family across the street has a brother that's an engineer that currently works for a good firm in New Zeeland after being hunted and taken jobs in Japan, India, Norway, and this is his second stop in New Zeeland.  A member of Tina's family that went to school for the local version of Hospitality and is now a mid level manager of a cruise ship.  So I can see some people, getting education in the right industry(more nurses come from the Philippines than anywhere) can get out of the USA quicker with such a degree.  Can they handle it?  Who knows.
Just the way I see it, the "free education"(like lost I agree that nothing is free and anyone saying something is free is either ignorant or hoping the people listening to them is ignorant) will make a degree cheaper in concern to it's effect in the Philippines, but be good for those who are looking to get jobs in a different country.  Engineers, nurses and hospitality educated college grads probably have the best chances to get out of the Philippines and get jobs.