JULY 24, 2012 DATE

NR # 2810
REF. NO.

Student loan board to fund the education of poor but deserving students
Lawmakers are urging Congress to approve a bill establishing a national student loan board that will help fund the tertiary education of poor but deserving students. Rep. Diosdado Macapagal Arroyo (2nd District, Camarines Sur), one of the authors of House Bill 6121, otherwise known as the National Student Loan Program for the Poor Act of 2011, calls for the creation of a National Student Loan Program for the Poor. The program will be under the Office of the President and in close coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Arroyo said there is a need for a national student loan board given the high incidence of poverty in the country, making easy access to higher education opportunities elusive especially for the poor. In the country, a little over 11 percent of the labor force has a college education. Moreover, in our college-age population, less than 50 percent are enrolled in tertiary educational institutions and about 70 percent live below the poverty line, Arroyo said. Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2nd District, Pampanga), co-author of the bill, said empowering the poor and the needy with decent education will give them more opportunities and help alleviate their impoverished lives The bill provides for the functions and powers of the National Student Loan Board which is, among others, to coordinate with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in determining brackets and monthly contributions to the National Student Loan Fund. The National Student Loan Board is likewise mandated to promulgate the necessary guideline, rules or regulations for the lending of funds as well as to allocate and disburse funds for education to the poor. Under the measure, the University of the Philippines (UP) will be responsible for implementing a cross-subsidy program, which will be replicated nationwide. As a result, mandatory monthly contributions shall be made by persons within specific income brackets and that such a fund collected will go to the national student loan fund. These contributions will be graduated according to income brackets, Arroyo said. The bill provides that all contributions made to the National Student Loan Fund shall be deductible from taxable personal income as provided under the bill. (30) mvip