Short-term student loan program implemented this year

Students in higher education and technical-vocational institutions across the country can avail themselves of the government’s short-term loan program starting this year, according to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Unified Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) Board executive director Carmelita Yadao-Sison said the student loan program provided under the free higher education law will be partly implemented in the coming school year.

The short-term loan program, which will require students to pay the loan within the school year, will be implemented within the year with the help of several government financial institutions.

“There is no reason for students not to study in college or technical-vocational education institutions,” she said during the last week’s information caravan in Legazpi, Albay.

“If the free education and tertiary education subsidy or TES is not enough because of other needs, students can avail themselves of loans,” she added.

The UniFAST Board, which is mandated to implement provisions of the free higher education law, has yet to release the guidelines for the short-term loan program.

CHED officer-in-charge J. Prospero de Vera III had said earlier they would coordinate with various institutions to help them craft the long-term student loan program.

Under the law, the repayment for the long-term loan program will only begin once the beneficiary secures any gainful employment with compensation, remuneration or earnings that reach the “compulsory repayment threshold” set and periodically reviewed by the UniFAST Board.

All Filipino students admitted in higher education and technical education institutions are eligible for the student loan program.

The program is a provision under the recently approved Republic Act 10931 or the free college education law, which will remove tuition and other fees in state universities and colleges, CHED-recognized local universities and colleges and technical education institutions.

The law also provides for the implementation of the TES, which will support students in private college and universities.

Sison said the program would prioritize students from the poorest of the poor households.