Kabataan Party-list on Saturday welcomed the announcement of the introduction of free tuition in all state universities and colleges (SUCs), calling it a “game-changer and a step in the right direction.”
The appropriation will cover the tuition of over 1.4 million students of 114 SUCs in the country.
“The Filipino youth celebrates and embraces this development, which potentially makes the Philippines at par with some of the great nations of the world – including Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Germany – when it comes to providing for free tuition in state schools,” House of Representative’s sole youth party-list said in a statement.
Starting 2017, tuition will be free in all state colleges and universities across the country. The Government has allocated an additional P8-billion fund for the Commission on Higher Education (CHED under the P3.35-trillion 2017 national budget.
READ: Free tuition in SUCs starting next school year, says Legarda
They said that the announcement of free tuition is no Christmas gift, but a victory of the youth movement.
Kabataan also called for students, youth, and the public to firmly follow through on this initial victory, and urged them to actively shape the immediate and fair implementation of tuition-free policy in SUCs.
“We must do everything in our power to have it implemented quickly and with a positive effect on students and the SUC community,”
Kabataan said it is also continuing to to push for the legislation of a comprehensive Free Public Education Law with fellow advocates in both chambers of Congress. IDL