Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act
The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act , officially designated as Republic Act 10931, is a Philippine law that institutionalizes free tuition and exemption from other fees in state universities and colleges, and local universities and colleges in the Philippines. The law also foresees subsidies for private higher education institutions. It is intended to give underprivileged Filipino students a better chance to earn a college degree.
Senate Bill No. 1304 or the "" was approved with 18 affirmative votes, no negative vote and no abstention. The bill was sponsored and authored by Senator Bam Aquino IV, former chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture. Apart from Aquino, the bill was co-authored by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, along with Senators Sonny Angara, Leila de Lima, Win Gatchalian, JV Ejercito, Dick Gordon, Loren Legarda, Kiko Pangilinan, Cynthia Villar, Joel Villanueva and Migz Zubiri. Recto, Angara, Ejercito, Legarda, Gatchalian, and Zubiri also served as the bill's co-sponsors during its deliberation at the Senate floor.
It was signed into law on August 3, 2017. The bill is supported by almost all members of Congress In September 2017, the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations announced that P40 billion had been gathered and that this amount would finance all expenses foreseen by the law for 2018.
On March 26, 2018, the Commission on Higher Education released the implementing rules and regulations pertaining to the Act.
Before the signing of the bill by the President, the government took the view after intense political discussions that "the long-term benefits that will be derived from a well-developed tertiary education on the part of the citizenry will definitely outweigh any short-term budgetary challenges". The government also stated that the "bottom 20 percent" was to have priority concerning the allocation of subsidies for education-related expenses.
Requirements and benefits
To continuously benefit from the law, students must meet all the admission and retention requirements. That is, they need to pass the admission and retention requirements of the universities, which includes finishing their degree on time and enrolling in the required number of units per year.Persons who have already obtained a bachelor's degree or comparable undergraduate degree from any public or private higher education institution are not eligible for free education.
The Implementing Rules and Regulations foresee different benefits depending on the type of institution in which the student enrols:
- All Filipino students enrolled in courses leading to a bachelor's degree in state universities and colleges, local universities and colleges and technical-vocational schools will be exempted from paying tuition and other school fees. They are also exempted from admission fees and fees for the use of library, laboratory and computers. For those enrolled in technical-vocational schools, further fees are exempted, including the cost of utilities, facilities, equipment and tools maintenance, as well as the honoraria of trainers. Other school fees that are covered are specified under Sections 4 and 5 of RA 10931 and are further detailed in the Implementing Rules and Regulations.
- For those enrolled in private higher education institutions, a subsidy for tuition and other school fees is available.
Transitional measures
- Resolution No. 620 – Reimbursements of fees paid for 2018:
- Free Tuition 2017 program – Reimbursements based on an income-based ranking: