Press Release - Prioritize the poorest in college subsidy - EDCOM 2

EDCOM 2 (Second Congressional Commission on Education) Co-Chairperson Senator Sherwin Gatchalian noted that the share of the poorest scholars under the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) program has continuously declined since 2018.

The share of the poorest TES grantees have continuously dwindled since 2018

"The law is very clear on prioritization. We should prioritize Listahanan and 4Ps because they're the poorest of the poor. But over the years, the share of the poorest of the poor vis-a-vis students from places with no State and Local Universities and Colleges (SUCs and LUCs) has gone down," said Gatchalian.

"We're, in effect, displacing the poorest of the poor. And, most gravely, we're not following the prioritization as provided by the law. How come this change is happening over the years?", Gatchalian asked UniFAST Executive Director Ryan Estevez during the budget hearing of the Commission on Higher Education.

Gatchalian referred to EDCOM 2 analysis of UNIFAST submitted data showing that the share of grantees of the TES which come from "Listahanan" has dropped substantially from 71.54% in 2018, to just 30.52% in 2022.

The TES is a subsidy established for all Filipino students who enroll in undergraduate programs of SUCs, LUCs, and private HEIs. Under Republic Act 10931 or the "Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education", the program was intended to support the poorest to pursue higher education.

TES grantees under the "Listahanan" category are those that are most in-need based on the Department of Social Welfare and Development's National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction, or Listahanan 2.0 and ranked according to their estimated per capita household income. These grantees are among the poorest students under the program.

Meanwhile, TES grantees under the "PNSL" (Place with No SUC/LUC) are those enrolled in private higher education institutions and residing in municipalities or cities with no SUC or LUC, irrespective of need/household income. The percentage of grantees under this category steadily rose from 25.76% in 2018, to 69.26% in 2022.

"How come we are now seeing a reverse, and the share of PNSL is getting bigger?", Gatchalian asked.