Aquino signs UniFAST bill into law

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III has signed into law a bill for faster financial assistance program for the poor but deserving college students.

Aquino signed on October 15 the “Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education Act (UniFAST),” known as Republic Act 10687, authored by Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo.

The bill provides a comprehensive and unified financial assistance system to tertiary students in the Philippines.

Romulo has earlier said the bill would allow qualified and disadvantaged students to have access to scholarships and other forms of financial support without the patronage of politicians.

The UniFAST bill aims to speed up the delivery of government scholarships and other student financial assistance by targeting qualified beneficiaries and adopting uniform standards for selection and retention.

Under the bill, the UniFAST board consists of the heads of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); one representative each from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA); and four representatives from associations of private higher educational institutions.

The bill said that the UniFAST board would pursue a long-term plan for the development of a self-sustaining National Student Loan Program (NSLP) , which should provide students short and long term financial assistance for tertiary education.

“The unified system will ensure that student financial aid programs are adequately funded at all times, and effectively carried out to benefit the greatest number of students who truly need the most help,” Romulo said.

Romulo is also the author of the Iskolar ng Bayan law, which grants the top 10 graduates of all public high schools with scholarships in state universities and colleges.