IPINANUKALA ni Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno ang pagrerebisa sa free college education system sa state universities and colleges (SUCs).
Tinawag ng Kalihim ang kasalukuyang scheme na “wasteful”.
“The core of my proposal to revisit the present ‘free’ college education is how to optimally allocate resources funded largely by taxpayers for education,” ayon kay Diokno.
“Government resources funded by taxpayers’ money, by nature, are finite… The present regime is unwieldy, inefficient, and wasteful,” dagdag na pahayag ng Kalihim.
Nauna rito, sinabi ni Diokno na ng Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Law o free college education sa mga state-run universities and colleges ay isang “unsustainable program at anti-poor.”
Nakapaloob sa data na pinresenta ng CHED sa House hearing na 36.83% ng college students na pumasok sa School Year 2020–2021 ay dropped out o pansamantalang iniwan ang pag-aaral.
Gayunman, sinabi ng CHED na itinaas ng free college education law ang participation rate o percentage ng college-age population na may edad na 15 hanggang 25 na naka-enroll sa baccalaureate programs sa higher educational institutions (HEI) sa 42% sa School Year 2022-2023 mula 32% noong 2016–2017 o bago pa naipasa ang batas noong 2018.
Sa kabilang dako, tinukoy naman ni Diokno ang pagtaas ng dropout rate, sabay sabing ito’y isang “indicator of wastefulness.”
Sa idinagawang pagdinig sa Kongreso, sinabi ng Commission on Higher Education (CHED) na ang patuloy na implementasyon ng batas na nagbibigay ng free college education ay “best anti-poverty measure” na maaaring ipatupad ng bansa.
Binigyang diin pa ni Diokno na ang reform proposal, na aniya’y ”aims to reduce the threat to the robust private school system.”
“The elements of my proposal are the following: first, focus on strengthening the K-12 program; second, filter, through a nationwide test, those who should be entitled to free education,” ang wika nito.
“Third, allow those who passed the nationwide exam and are entitled to ‘free’ education to use their entitlement (a four-year voucher) to enter or reject their assigned state university [or] choose an accredited private university; and [lastly] reduce the number of existing SUCs over time through mergers,” dagdag na pahayag ni Diokno.
Ang paliwanag pa nito, ang palakasin ang K-12 program, “the poor have a better chance of entering college and completing the same if they have a good foundation.”
“That’s the key— excellent basic education. That should be our focus. The other goal of the K-12 program is to prepare the student for gainful employment or higher education. Many are not interested in going to college; they just want better jobs,” ang tinuran ni Diokno.
Ipinanukala naman ni Diokno ang ‘nationwide test’ para sa mga aspiranteng nagnanais na makapunta o makapag-aral sa kolehiyo.
“The score of the examinee will determine which SUC and its campus he or she will be assigned,” ayon kay Diokno.
“Theoretically, as a government scholar, he is entitled to [a certain] amount of education voucher. He may refuse to enroll in an SUC assigned to him and instead attend any government-accredited private university that will admit him. Of course, the voucher will be released on an annual basis and will be based on satisfactory performance of the government scholar,” dagdag na wika nito.
Hinggil naman sa panukalang pag-isahin o pagsamahin ang SUCs, sinabi nito na Diokno “can be done over a period of years, say five years.”
“Initially, it can be started by having the same set of trustees in all SUCs within the same region. Note that there are several SUCs in a region,” aniya pa rin.
Inamin naman ni Diokno na ang kanyang panukala ay “are not perfect, but they could immensely improve the allocation of scarce government resources.” RNT
