Thousands of college students may be displaced with reduced CHED budget

Thousands of college students might be displaced with the reduction in the budget of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for 2020, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto warned on Friday.

Recto said the CHED budget suffered a 23 percent –or R11.6 billion –cut in its proposed allocation from the government for next year: from this year’s R52.43 billion to R40.78 billion.

He pointed out that 80 percent of the commission’s annual budget was earmarked for the implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education (UAQTE) which gave students in state universities and colleges (SUCs) free tuition fees, among other programs.

For 2019, the UAQTE was funded with R42.5 billion to benefit 708,993 students. But for 2020, its budget was cut to R35.36 billion, or R7.12 billion less than this year.

“Hundreds of thousands of college students are in danger of ending their studies if the plan to slash the CHED’s 2020 budget by R11.6 billion for next year pushes through,” Recto said in a statement.

“Instead of diplomas, government will be handing out dismissal slips. The budget cut for tertiary education is a ticket to a forced vacation for many public and private college students,” he added.

“Okay lang sana kung hindi pa sila naka-enroll sa kolehiyo; kung papasok pa lang (It would be okay if they had not enrolled yet). Pero karamihan naka-enrol na (But several of them are already enrolled), prodded by a government guarantee that if they study hard and maintain good grades, they can keep the scholarship,” he further noted.

CHED officials have appealed to lawmakers for an additional R10 billion in its budget for next year to be able to fund its programs, which include the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES).

Aside from the tertiary education program, the CHED also lamented that there was no 2020 appropriation for its Tulong Dunong Program to grant cash assistance to college students.

“Congress is not a mint that can just print money. But by raising this issue, I hope that both houses will find ways on how to maintain the funding status quo,” Recto said.

“Otherwise, the continued schooling of 175,260 students under the Student Financial Assistance Program, 1,932 medical scholars, and between 115,352 to 199,920 students who benefit from the TES will be in peril,” he warned.

Meanwhile, Recto said the government’s budget for the more than 100 SUCs in the Philippines was only increased by less than one percent to R64.86 billion for next year.

Senate finance committee vice chair Senator Pia Cayetano earlier vowed to review major cuts in the CHED’s budget.

She said she is looking into possible sources for additional funding, among which are unobligated funds from the agencies’ 2019 budget.