The Senate has approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to expand financial support for college and technical-vocational students under the country’s free tertiary education law.
With a 21-0-0 vote on Tuesday, May 12, senators passed Senate Bill No. 1894. The measure seeks to amend Republic Act No. 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which covers free tuition and other school fees in state universities and colleges, local universities and colleges, and state-run technical-vocational institutions.
Sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, the bill aims to expand financial assistance, widen access for disadvantaged learners, and improve monitoring and quality assurance.
Under the measure, students from households covered by the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program who complete senior high school will automatically qualify for Tertiary Education Subsidy grants once admitted to schools recognized by the Commission on Higher Education or Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
The bill also expands the list of disadvantaged learners to include persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, children under foster care, solo parents and their dependents, learners in conflict with the law, first-generation college students, and students from geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
The subsidy would cover transportation, books, room and board, laptop or computer purchases, disability-related expenses, and licensure-related costs. Nursing and allied health students in private higher education institutions would also receive support for clinical internship and Related Learning Experience fees.
Legarda said EDCOM 2 found gaps in student assistance programs, with vulnerable learners still struggling with transportation, food, housing, and school requirements despite support mechanisms.
“Ang edukasyon ay hindi lang dapat libre, dapat ito’y makabuluhan at nagbubunga ng tunay na oportunidad, mula enrollment hanggang graduation at trabaho,” Legarda added.
Legarda said the House had already approved its version, moving the proposal closer to wider support for poor and disadvantaged students.
