‘Stricter screening for free education to hurt marginalized students’

MANILA, Philippines — Introducing competitive screening to filter the number of beneficiaries of free higher education would disadvantage marginalized students, groups defending the government’s free tertiary education program said.

Finance chief Benjamin Diokno previously proposed a screening test before accepting students in state universities and colleges (SUCs) in response to the number of dropouts in SUCs every year.

The proposal — only verbal as of press time — has been met with criticism from groups who stressed that students from low-income households depend on the government’s free education program to complete their tertiary studies.

In particular, women’s organization Center for Women’s Resources expressed concern over the possible loss of access to higher education among those without resources to enroll in private universities. 

“Not only would such a move be detrimental to the entire Filipino youth but it would also disproportionately impact young Filipino women, robbing them of their fundamental right to education,” the Center for Women’s Resources (CWR) said.

“Compared to public institutions, private universities and colleges typically charge higher tuition fees. As a result, it becomes more difficult for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds to afford quality higher education,” the group added.

Rep. Raoul Manuel (Kabataan Partylist) also pointed out during a House appropriations hearing that SUCs currently accept a limited number of students due to their small absorptive capacity or limited facilities.

"The promise of free college education is meaningless if only a few can actually benefit from it because our SUCs cannot accommodate more students,” Manuel said.

“If we want infrastructure or investments with a multiplier effect, it should be in education.”

Similarly, Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela Women’s Party) said that adding more requirements in the free higher education program “goes against the principles of equality and social justice.”

"Instead of questioning the sustainability of free tuition, Secretary Diokno should focus on ensuring adequate funding for education and addressing the root causes of the rising dropout rate,” Brosas said.

Improved progression rate 

While there are local and international studies showing the government’s free higher education program disproportionately benefits high-income students, there is data showing more Filipino high school students can advance to college after the enactment of the free higher education law in 2018.

Specifically, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian previously said that the progression rates from high school to college improved to an average of 81% from 2018 to 2022 compared to just 54% and 62% for Academic Years 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, respectively.  

The CWR said that the most effective approach for the government to tackle the high dropout rates is to retain the free tuition policy and improve the quality of education.

“Allocating a higher budgetary priority to education would enable schools to provide better resources and facilities, ultimately improving the quality of education and reducing dropout rates,” the group said.