If you said yes to both questions, here’s the answer to your problem: SAFE 4 SR, or Student’s Assistance Fund for Education for a Strong Republic. This interest-free loan program of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is open to third, fourth and graduating college students.
According to Presidential Assistant for Youth Affairs Dennis Cunanan, the program was implemented only last January. It was conceived to address the country’s problem with regard to tertiary education. Grim statistics show that 40 percent of college students drop out when they reach their third, fourth or graduating year. The reason is that upon reaching the said college levels, expenses increase tremendously. This expenditure increase is primarily caused by additional course requirements – there are extra laboratory fees, graduation fees and fees to cover thesis requirements. With a debt in the school, these students are not able to get clearance to take their exams. Hence, they simply opt to drop out of school. Another big factor that contributes to the high dropout rates is part-time jobs. Working during the day and studying at night (or vice versa), students don’t get to concentrate on their studies. There are those who choose to save first and study later. Also, they end up wasting four years of education because they cannot afford to pay additional expenses apart from the regular tuition fee.
SAFE 4 SR is a way of addressing this big (and rising?) number of college dropouts in the country. Simply put, it’s an emergency loan. The money passes through CHED as part of its Higher Education Development Fund. With this, CHED aims to strengthen and uplift the quality of higher education in the country. One way of doing this is to enable college students to graduate on time and, more than that, become quality graduates. For these students to be quality graduates, they have to be able to focus on their studies and nothing but. They must be able to study without any distractions, such as having to cope with financial problems especially in times of emergency.
Recent studies show that students are forced to engage in illegal or harmful activities when they find themselves in desperate need of money. Such dubious activities can involve drugs, alcohol and prostitution. The emergency loan character of SAFE 4 SR is tailor-made to address this problem. More, it addresses all other expenses such as balances in tuition fee, in-house boarding expenses, book expenses and other valid educational expenses.
All told, SAFE 4 SR has four main objectives. First, to give assistance to at least 100,000 third year, fourth year and fifth year graduating students who are financially in need by giving them an easily accessible student loan. Second, to increase the number of Filipino graduates in priority courses and correspondingly, to increase the high-skill work force in the Philippines. The third is, of course, to address the alarming increase of college dropouts caused by financial constraints. Lastly, the program also hopes to encourage Filipinos to acquire a college degree, and convince them that completing an elementary and high school education is just not enough.
SAFE 4 SR believes that, yes, it can help families realize their dream of securing a bright future for their children.
To avail yourself of the program, you must meet the following qualifications. First, you should be a bona fide student in a CHED-recognized institution and should be in your third, fourth, fifth or graduating year. Second, you should have a passing weighted average from the previous semester. Third, you should have the intention of using the loaned amount for educational expenses only. Lastly, you should be willing to comply with the program’s rules and regulations. The screening is conducted by the school, not CHED.
The loan program is quite generous. Students can borrow as much as P8,000, payable in 10 years with a two-year moratorium. Also, students can choose to borrow P4,000 and below, with five years to pay and a two-year moratorium as well. To make matters more financially uncomplicated, the loans are also interest-free. The reason for the moratorium of two years is that studies have shown that it takes two years for a graduate to find a job that s/he really wants. And the reason why it is interest-free is so as not to impose any financial burden on the already burdened student. But then, of course, they have to face the responsibility of paying back the money they owe. Cunanan says that this way, they get to develop values and a sense of social responsibility.
Assuming that the foregoing has made an eager program candidate out of you, here’s how you can avail yourself of the SAFE 4 SR. First off, get in touch with your school’s Student Financial Assistance (SFA) unit. Ask them for the guidelines as well as the application form. Then tell the SFA officer how much you wish to borrow. The SFA officer would then determine if the amount declared is necessary and reasonable. Lastly, after submitting all the requirements, you will be informed by the SFA officer whether or not you made it to the list of successful applicants.
As one becomes part of the SAFE 4 SR, Cunanan has only one request from the student: To choose from two activities. The student can plant a tree in cooperation with the school and the DENR. This is to develop a sense of social responsibility in the student and secure the future by protecting the environment and developing a sense of environmentalism in young people. The other option is to engage in a community literacy program, which entails volunteering to teach basic education in communities where the mothers and children cannot afford to study. Also, if the student is quite knowledgeable in computers, s/he may choose to share his/her expertise in operating computers with government employees.
So full of activities, the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Youth Affairs also has a lot of things in store for students this summer. Among these is a summer camp. There will be leadership training, organization management and team-building activities. Through these activities, the summer camp can integrate student council officers and Sangguniang Kabataan leaders in their community, uniting them as the youth sector. Cunanan believes that the youth comprises a big part of the population. However, they have to show off their collective strength for them to become a persuasive force in society.
Hence, this summer camp hopes to bring together the student councils and the Sangguniang Kabataan in terms of programs to implement. Together, they hope to discuss what they can pass on to the next generation for the latter to build on and enhance.
Looking ahead with optimism, Cunanan believes that as years go by, the program would only keep giving more and more students a brighter future. Brighter smiles will be seen on more and more students’ faces. More and more highly skilled workers will be produced by the country. Indeed, Cunanan already feels that his own big dream has been fulfilled. But the ultimate fulfillment is, of course, seeing more and more young people today realize their dreams of a better tomorrow, which they can give as a legacy to their own children as well.