Philippine president signs law prioritizing poor students for subsidies
On September 4, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act 12325, which amends the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act to give the most economically disadvantaged college and vocational students priority in the Commission on Higher Education's Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES). The law gives the highest priority to households enrolled in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program and allocates remaining slots by household income after concern that the poorest share fell from 74.24% in 2018 to 30.74% in 2022. It creates a private education assistance program, varies subsidy amounts by degree, and covers internship and clinical training fees; CHED, TESDA, and UniFAST will draft implementing rules.
Law gives poorest students top priority for TES subsidies.
Context
The 2017 law made tuition free at state colleges and created TES subsidies. EDCOM 2 found the poorest households got fewer TES grants by 2022. Next, CHED, TESDA, and UniFAST must write the implementing rules for the new law.
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