Congress: No Free Tuition for ‘Bulakbol’ Students

Congress would exercise its oversight powers to ensure that the government’s free college tuition program would be allocated only to deserving students and on malingerers and recidivist absentees or ‘bulakbol’ students.

House Appropriations Committee Chair Karlo Nograles said state and local colleges and universities (SCUs) should not become “Iskul Bukol” just for the sake of providing free college education.

“Through our oversight function, Congress would assist the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the participating educational institutions in making sure that only deserving students will benefit from the free college tuition program,” the Davao City lawmaker said, adding that government funds are too precious to be wasted.

The landmark law, which democratized state college education, was inked by President Rodrigo Duterte in August 2017, which effectively does away with the collection of tuition and other school fees starting the school year 2018-2019.

RA 10931’s beneficiaries include students from the country’s 114 state universities and colleges (SUCs), 16 local universities and colleges (LUCs) accredited by CHED and 122 technical-vocational institutions (TVIs) under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

CHED and other stakeholders might also use the House hearings to address the birth pangs of the implementation of the much-awaited program, said the lawmaker.

“We can’t expect this to be free of hitches especially during its first year of implementation, so close coordination between lawmakers, CHED and other stakeholders is vital. We can learn the problems and solve them as we go along,” he said.

The House member said these policies would discourage recidivism from students, such as absenteeism, tardiness and cutting of classes.

Photo credit: GMA News

(Source: FilipinoTimes.net)