Congress approves free tuition in SUCs for honor students

MANILA, Philippines - The Senate and House of Representatives on Friday approved the "Iskolar ng Bayan Act of 2014."

Republic Act 10648 provides scholarship grants to top graduates of public high schools in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs).

"It is the declared policy of the State to protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality and accessible education at all levels and to establish and maintain a financial assistance system that shall be available to deserving students, especially the underprivileged," the statement said.

The scholarship will cover the top 10 students of the graduating class of all public high schools. An additional slot will be granted to public high schools with more than 500 students for every 500 graduates. The additional slots will be given to graduates with ranks immediately preceding the top 10.

Students must first meet the admission requirements of their chosen SUC before they can avail of the scholarship. The public high school principal or administrator will have to verify the student's rank in the graduating class.

The program covers the full amount of tuition and other school fees for the first year of college only. Students will be covered by the regular financial assistance and scholarship programs offered by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) after their first year, if they are qualified.

Under the Act, it will be the duty of CHED to ensure that SUCs have the capacity to absorb scholars and that they comply with the law. The SUCs shall inform the faculty and administrative staff about the program.

The Department of Education will inform all public high schools about the scholarship program and will be in charge of identifying the scholars.

The amount needed to fund the scholarships will be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

The Iskolar ng Bayan Act will be implemented beginning school year 2015-2016.