CHED releases ₱228 M to fund expanded grants for SUC scholars

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) ordered yesterday the immediate release of P228 million to fund the Expanded Students’ Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA) scholars in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs).

Issuing a statement, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) J. Prospero de Vera III said that the funds for the stipend of ESGP-PA scholars in SUCs that have billed the CHED – Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) was to be released starting yesterday, October 9.

This move, De Vera said, is to “address the concerns of ESGP-PA beneficiaries during the transition of the ESGP-PA scholarship funds from the SUCs to CHED-UniFAST under RA 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (UAQTEA).”

De Vera noted that prior to RA 10931, the “selection and validation of scholars” was with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The funding, he explained, was “directly lodged” by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the SUCs.

“Under RA 10931, all continuing ESGP-PA scholars are included as beneficiaries of the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES), which received an allocation of PhP16B,” de Vera said.

De Vera explained that ESGP-PA beneficiaries are “poor but deserving students belonging to families” listed in the DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). “They are currently enrolled in selected SUCs taking up CHED priority programs and other courses offerings within the government’s key growth areas,” he added.