SUCs implement stricter admission policies

MANILA, Philippines — State colleges and universities (SUCs) are implementing stricter admission policies this year to manage the influx of students who want to avail themselves free higher education of the government. 

Tirso Ronquillo, president of the Philippine Association of SUCs, said that government-funded schools have to implement “relatively stricter” admission policies to prevent overcapacity. 

“We cannot accept beyond our capacity,” he said last week during the regional caravan in Southern Tagalog for Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.

“It still depends on our capacity, the number of our classrooms and number of our teachers. We cannot accept beyond our capability of accommodating them. If we will accept beyond the capacity, the school will suffer,” he added.

According to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), around 1.3 million students from 112 SUCs and 78 CHED-recognized local universities and colleges (LUCs) are expected to benefit from the initial implementation of the free higher education law. 

CHED officer-in-charge J. Prospero de Vera earlier warned schools from accepting students beyond their capacities. 

While the influx of students is a good indicator that the new law is attracting more high school graduates to proceed to college, De Vera said that SUCs and LUCs should ensure that the quality of education will not be affected.

“I have been telling the SUCs and LUCs for the past months not to unduly expand their enrolment because if they do that, they will put into motion a lot of problems that will come later on,” he said. 

De Vera noted that the practice of not accepting all interested applicants is not new, citing the case of UP which accepts only around 15 percent of entrance examinees.

Access to disadvantaged students

To ensure that disadvantaged students will get access in SUCs and LUCs, De Vera said that the free higher education law provides for the implementation of affirmative action programs.

He said the program aims to increase intake of students from public schools, poor households and communities, indigenous groups and students with disabilities.

“Hopefully by next year, (the SUCs) will now start tweaking their admission policies to increase the intake from the disadvantaged groups,” he said.

“We recognize that if the admission tests become more competitive, it might be disadvantageous to students who are less prepared to take admission tests. The corrective actions will be the affirmative actions,” said the CHED official.

Carmelita Yadao-Sison, officer-in-charge of the Unified Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education board, also explained that the new law also provides many options to Filipino learners and not just in higher education.

“They can avail first the free technical-vocational education since we have a laderized program,” she said in Filipino. 

“They can gain a competency or a skill, get a job, then go back to college. There is also the option of going to a private school,” she said.