While the Free Tuition Law has encouraged higher college enrollment rates for lower-income students, the tertiary education subsidies supposed to help them finish their education have mainly been directed toward non-poor households, the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) found.
Enrollment rates have improved across both public and private higher education institutions since the passage of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act in 2017, read EDCOM II’s report published Jan. 27. But student attrition rates remained high, with as much as four of 10 students dropping out before completing their education.
‘Equitable’ Enrollment
Inequitable implementation of the Free Tuition Law has led to suggestions to junk the Free Tuition Law and replace it with a more merit-based system, as Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said in 2023.
Data from a 2024 study of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies led by Connie Bayudan-Dacuycuy, however, suggests that for both private and public higher education institutions, enrollment across income brackets has actually become more equal. However, private enrollment still favors better-off students.
Overall participation also increased—while enrollment was declining by 18.03% the year before 2017, it quickly grew after the Free Tuition Law’s passage to an average of 14.15% annually for state and local universities (SUCs and LUCs), and 8.92% for private universities up to academic year 2022–2023.
Still, while enrollment rates have improved, EDCOM II reported high attrition rates, mostly due to financial reasons. Tertiary education subsidies provided by the Free Tuition Law, which should supposedly support poor students in both private and public institutions, were not allocated properly, according to the report.
The report recommended amending the Free Tuition Law to redirect tertiary education subsidies to poorer students by prioritizing those part of the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4Ps)—operationalized in a bill filed by Sen. Loren Legarda on Dec. 17, 2024.
‘Enhanced’ Free Tuition
Senate Bill 2905 seeks to amend the Free Tuition Law to change the beneficiaries of tertiary education subsidies to supposedly poorer students, especially those studying in private institutions.
Under the current law, subsidies are first given to students tagged as poor according to income in Listahanan, a national survey conducted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Any funds left can then be given to students not tagged in the survey, ranked again by income.
“While Listahanan identifies households in geographically-poor locations, it includes both poor and unpoor households. Therefore, eligibility should be based on household income, not mere inclusion in the Listahanan,” the report read.
The Commission on Audit reported in January that over 60% of 4Ps beneficiaries were not part of Listahanan 2.0, the 2021 version of the survey. Listahanan was also discontinued in 2024 in favor of a community-based monitoring system.
The proposed Enhanced Free Tuition Bill would then instead prioritize subsidies for 4Ps students explicitly. It allocates subsidies to the following:
- Senior high school students participating in 4Ps accepted into higher education institutions recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
- Students as ranked according to income in Listahanan, upon the availability of leftover funds
For places without nearby state or local universities, students are forced to enroll in private higher education institutions. The current Free Tuition Law supposedly provides subsidies for the tuition, allowance, and miscellaneous fees of these students.
Since 2023, however, the Unified Student Financial Assistance for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) reduced subsidies for students in higher education institutions to just P10,000 per semester, regardless if they study in a public or a private school.
“This change disadvantages students in private higher education institutions, as they must allocate the subsidy toward tuition fees, whereas students in public institutions can use it as an allowance, given that their tuition and other school fees are already covered under the free higher education program,” according to EDCOM II.
The proposed bill would mandate full tuition and allowance coverage for economically disadvantaged students in private higher education institutions. But it also says that higher subsidies would be given to students who enroll in CHED priority courses.
Affirmative Action
So far, EDCOM II has only tackled subsidies as a way to equalize higher education. But another approach, not at all mentioned in the Free Tuition Law, can be considered: admission policy.
Local universities and colleges in their admissions mostly practice affirmative action—considering socioeconomic factors such as income and household education—to reach out to disadvantaged students in their local areas, according to EDCOM II’s report.
But state universities and colleges, like UP, have a different story. While not entirely merit-based, UP’s admissions through the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) are geared to “maintain quality standards,” said the report.
Merit-based admissions, however, tend to reward economically advantaged students, leaving behind those who do not have the resources to improve their education. In 2023, only one in five UP College Admissions (UPCA) passers came from public general high schools.
UPCA is the pandemic-era equivalent of the usual test. There is, as of writing, no publicly available data yet for UPCAT 2024 results.
Even UP President Angelo Jimenez has acknowledged that UP has garnered a public reputation over the years as being catered more for the “elite.” But so far, affirmative action in the university has been limited to scholarship grants, such as the Lingap-Iskolar Program, which only covers 350 disadvantaged students distributed across all the campuses of the UP system.
Still, in their released statements, state universities are hopeful of making further improvements to equity and quality efforts in education.
“While it is important to acknowledge the challenges that need to be prioritized … these successes should motivate us to drive further innovation and sustained improvements across the national education system, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to reach their full potential,” UP Vice President for Academic Affairs Leo DP Cubillan said Feb. 7 about the report. ●
