Cayetano: Fight for free college education
AFTER ISKOLAR NG BAYAN
LINGAYEN– Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano encouraged the students of the Pangasinan State University (PSU) here to rally for a free tertiary education.
He made the call after explaining that the Republic Act No. 10648 or the Iskolar ng Bayan (INB) Act of 2014 only covers the first year of college education for top ten high school graduates in the country.
“While the INB is a giant leap in our history, the battle does not stop there. I encourage our students to use all legal means, especially the social media, to send a powerful message to the government: end corruption and pour more funds to education,” Cayetano said during his visit at the PSU on January 22.
Signed into law by President Benigno Aquino III last Nov. 17, INB law mandates all state universities and colleges (SUCs) to give automatic admission and provide scholarship grants to the top 10 public high school students.
It seeks to “democratize access to higher education by institutionalizing a college scholarship program” for public high school students who are in the Top 10 of their respective graduating classes.
Almost 80,000 youths are assured of scholarships in the 112 SUCs in the country.
Since the law only covers the freshman year, students may apply for financial assistance from the government through the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for their succeeding years in college.
Further, “a public high school with more than 500 graduates shall be entitled to one additional scholarship slot in SUCs for every 500 graduates. The additional slots shall be given to graduates whose ranks immediately follow the top 10 students and who will enroll in SUCs after meeting the admission requirements for freshmen.”
As the author of the INB act in the Senate, the majority leader has been visiting SUCs nationwide to explain the benefits of the law, how it will allow poor but deserving students to pursue higher learning.- (Johanne Macob/PNA)
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