MISAMIS ORIENTAL (PIA)--As the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)-10 continues to celebrate the founding anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the commission discloses that the tertiary education program of the country is being recognized by its fellow member countries for the quality of education offered to students.

“We are always benchmarking with the best in Asia and the world, the reason why we have many higher education institutions included in the world rank,” CHED-10 Regional Director Freddie T. Bernal said.

Bernal emphasized that our country's recognition extends beyond prestigious institutions like the University of the Philippines, the University of Santo Tomas, Dela Salle University, and Ateneo. He said State Universities and Colleges, such as the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, also enjoy global recognition.

Besides the quality education being offered by the different higher institutions in the country, including in the region, the commission mentioned that the cost of education is much cheaper in the country than in the neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, which is the reason why many foreigners opted to study in the country.

Aside from giving quality education, CHED shared that the Philippines is the only country that is a member of ASEAN that dared to provide free higher education programs to those deserving and less fortunate students so they finish their tertiary education.

“Aside from the free higher education meron pa tayong tertiary education subsidy; yung studyante na nasa poorest of the poor na identified ng DSWD at iba pang parameters binibigyan ng subsidy ng gobyerno (those students that belongs to the poorest of the poor which is identified by DSWD and other parameters, the government gives subsidy),” Bernal added

With the previous administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, Bernal explained that the subsidy accepted by the beneficiaries ranges from P60,000 for those enrolled in private higher institutions and P40,000 in public higher institutions per academic year. However, there have been no new beneficiaries recorded for the program due to certain financial constraints affecting the allocation of tertiary subsidies.

Despite the said setback, the commission director shared that the congress with CHED had made a way to revive the subsidy program, yet unpaid payments registered in the system have to be paid. Some changes were also made to the benefit program to encourage more students to participate; instead of the previous P60,000 for private and P40,000 for public, it is now P20,000 per academic year.

Tertiary Education Subsidy

The Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) is a program under Republic Act No. 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (UAQTEA) in which students enrolled in State Universities and Colleges (SUC), CHED recognized Local Universities and College (LUC), private Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in CHED recognized programs or courses, can avail.

Students can avail of the program once enrolled in CHED-recognized higher education institutions, programs, or courses. Upon enrolment, one may apply through the TES Online Portal of the commission.

The commission also stated that applications for the said program are only accepted once per academic year, during or after the enrollment period of the first semester, and that walk-in applications are discouraged.

Aside from that, the commission stated that students continuing their TES student-grantees, those enrolled in private HEIs located in a city or municipality with no existing SUCs and CHED-recognized LUCs provided they submit documents certifying their residency in the same city or municipality where the PHEI located, and those who are part of the Listahanan 2.0 of DSWD (result of the survey conducted by DSWD last 2015) are the order of prioritization in availing the TES program.

Moreover, CHED explained that there are guidelines wherein a student cannot avail of the subsidy for reasons such as a student is enrolled in a program or institution not included in the commission’s registry of recognized programs and institutions, students who have exceeded the Maximum Residency Rule of their program, and those who have already earned or completed a college degree program. 

As per Memoradum Circular No. 5, s. 2023, Section 3, the new TES grantees for Academic Year 2023-2024 will receive twenty thousand pesos per academic year or ten thousand pesos per semester whether the student is enrolled in public or private institutions.

CHED-10 assures the public that they remain true to their mandate and mission to promote equitable access and ensure the quality and relevance of higher education institutions and their programs. They also urge the student to avail of the programs and visit their online portal: https://ched.gov.ph/  for further announcements. (JAKA/PIA10)