ONE of the important laws passed this 2017 and may also be regarded as a

landmark legislation in the Philippines is the Universal Access to Quality

Tertiary Education Act, or Republic Act 10931. This law started as a “free
education in SUCs bill” but has expanded into a law that includes subsidy
and assistance to students in the private colleges and universities. This law
now makes education in the state universities and colleges, or SUCs, free;
provides education subsidy to all students, including those enrolled in the
private higher education institutions; and provides budget for student
loans. Remarkably, this is the only law so far that truly seeks to
operationalize the constitutional mandate of complementarity between
public and private educational institutions. But the most significant and
game-changing reform under the new law is the state funding of private
higher education.

State funding of private education

Some policymakers are still averse to the idea of state funding for private
education. One of the strongest arguments against it is the principle that
government funds and property shall be used solely for government or
public purposes. This is found in PD 1445, the decree in 1978 that created
the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines. Another major
argument against it is that appropriating funds for private education is like
an abdication of the government’s duty to provide education for the
Filipino youth.

Despite the strong opposition to state funding of private education in

general, the following are some of the laws that actually support
participation of the private sector in the delivery of education:

Art II, Section 20, 1987 Philippine Constitution. The State recognizes the
indispensable role of the private sector, encourages private enterprise, and
provides incentives to needed investments.

Art XIV, Section 4, 1987 Philippine Constitution. The State recognizes the
complementary roles of public and private institutions in the educational
system and shall exercise reasonable supervision and regulation of all
educational institutions.

Batas Pambansa 232, or the Education Act of 1982, Section 33.

Declaration of Policy – It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State
that the national government shall contribute to the financial support of
educational programs pursuant to goals of education as declared in the
Constitution. Towards this end, the government shall: (2) Encourage and
stimulate private support to education through, inter alia, fiscal and other
assistance measures.
RA 10533, or the K to 12 Law, Section 10. The DepED shall engage the
services of private education institutions and non-DepED schools offering
senior high school through the programs under Republic Act 8545, and
other financial arrangements formulated by the DepED and the
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) based on the principles of
public-private partnership.

RA 7718, “An Act Amending Certain Sections of RA 6957, entitled An

Act Authorizing the Financing, Construction, Operation and Maintenance
of Infrastructure Projects by the Private Sector and for Other Purposes,”
Section 1. It is the declared policy of the State to recognize the
indispensable role of the private sector as the main engine for national
growth and development and provide the most appropriate incentives to
mobilize private resources for the purpose of financing the construction,
operation and maintenance of infrastructure and development projects
normally financed and undertaken by the government. Such incentives,
aside from financial incentives as provided by law, shall include providing
a climate of minimum government regulations and procedures and specific
government undertakings in support of the private sector.

Education is a public good

But the soundest counter-argument against disqualification of private
education institutions from state funding remains that the delivery of
education is a public good and the same does not lose its character as such
even when it is delivered through private entities. In fact, the justification
for government subsidy of private education is that when the private sector
participates in the delivery of education to a portion of the State’s
population, it actually eases the cost and burden from the State in the
performance of its duty to its citizenry.

Privatization of higher education?

There is this fear that when higher education is “privatized”, it will
become more expensive; reduce access of the poor and the
marginalized;and that quality higher education will remain a privilege of
the advantaged in the society.While to some extent this fear has some
basis, we should not forget that the concept of privatization of education is
viewed in two ways: One is where private money is used to fund public
education; and another where public money is used to fund private
education.In both, there are pitfalls involved.

In the first, taxes collected from private individuals and entities (including
private schools) are used to fund public education in the SUCs. Over the
years, issues such as overcrowding of students, inefficient use of public
funds; poor facilities and resources; low quality of education; and even
corruption and misappropriation of public funds continue to hound this
view of “privatization” of public higher education.

This is the reason why, there is a growingpublic interestin exploring the

second view of privatization which is expanding the State-fundingto
include students in private higher education institutions.According to the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development or the OECD,
part of that interest in broadening the responsibility for schools beyond the
State is to provide greater choice for parents and students and to stimulate
creativity and innovation within the educational institution themselves, and
provide more space for academic freedom in running its affairs. Also, it is
well-recognized that more students and parents prefer a privately-managed
higher educational institution over a State school because they believe it
provides better quality of education, it provides an environment more
conducive to learning, and it has better educationpolicies and practices.

But still, majority of parents cannot afford to send their children to private
higher educational institutions and only the advantaged are able to do so.
According to the OECD report in 2015, this leads to stratification of
students who come from private and public schools. Students in the private
schools are said to have better opportunities for development and growth,
and gainful employment after school, while those from public schools
have limited opportunities to succeed.

Avoiding Stratification in Education

Stratification means creating “classes” of students according to their socio-
economic backgrounds. Families who belong to the higher economic
statusare likely to send their children to a private school, while those who
come from lower socio-economic levels are constrained to attend free
public education. And because those who attend private education have
better resources and better learning environment, they have better life
prospects than their counterparts in public education.

Thus, the need for government to level the playing field across socio-
economic classes in order to avoid stratification and maintain equity in
education opportunities for all students, regardless of their socio-economic
backgrounds. According to the same OECD report, the level of public
funding of private education has a direct correlation in the stratification of
education. In those countries where privately managed schools receive
higher proportions of public funding, there is less stratification between
publicly and privately managed schools.

It seems that the Philippines is headed towards the right direction in

allowing state funding of private higher education despite challenges and
opposition to this concept widely recognized even in highly developed
nations like the OECD member-countries. With the strengthening of the
Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education, or the
UNIFAST Law under RA 10931, there are many ways to allow state
funding of private higher education of students through vouchers,
scholarships, and loans. If implemented properly, students regardless of
socio-economic background will have equity in education opportunities
from quality educational institutions in both public and private sectors.

An increased state funding of private higher education would also spur

quality initiatives in all higher educational institutions (HEIs), both public
and private, as they “compete” for students in terms of quality of education
services. This would result in more high-performing HEIs. Parents and
students would be given the freedom of choice of HEIs without being
limited by their socio-economic background. There would be less
stratification, a universally accessible higher education, and most of all—
real equity in quality higher education for the Filipino youth.

It is hoped that the momentum created by the enactment of RA 10931, or

the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, be sustained in the
year 2018 and the years to come.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10931, August 03, 2017

AN ACT PROMOTING UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO QUALITY TERTIARY EDUCATION BY PROVIDING FOR FREE
TUITION AND OTHER SCHOOL FEES IN STATE UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES, LOCAL UNIVERSITIES
AND COLLEGES AND STATE-RUN TECHNICAL-VOCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, ESTABLISHING THE
TERTIARY EDUCATION SUBSIDY AND STUDENT LOAN PROGRAM, STRENGTHENING THE UNIFIED
STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE SYSTEM FOR TERTIARY EDUCATION, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR

EPUBLIC ACT NO. 8545

AN ACT AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6728,

OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "AN ACT PROVIDING
GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE TO STUDENTS AND
TEACHERS IN PRIVATE EDUCATION AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR,"
ESTABLISHING A FUND FOR THE PURPOSE OF
SUBSIDIZING SALARIES OF PRIVATE SCHOOL
TEACHERS, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR.

Section 1. Republic Act No. 6728, otherwise known as the "Government

Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act," is hereby
amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 1. Title. — This Act shall be known as the 'Expanded Government

Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act.'

National Budget Circular 542, issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM)
on August 29, 2012, reiterates compliance with Section 93 of the General Appropriations Act
of FY 2012. Section 93 is the Transparency Seal provision, to wit:

Sec. 93. Transparency Seal. To enhance transparency and enforce accountability, all
national government agencies shall maintain a transparency seal on their official websites.
The transparency seal shall contain the following information: (i) the agency’s mandates and
functions, names of its officials with their position and designation, and contact information;
(ii) annual reports, as required under National Budget Circular Nos. 507 and 507-A dated
January 31, 2007 and June 12, 2007, respectively, for the last three (3) years; (iii) their
respective approved budgets and corresponding targets immediately upon approval of this
Act; (iv) major programs and projects categorized in accordance with the five key results
areas under E.O. No. 43, s. 2011; (v) the program/projects beneficiaries as identified in the
applicable special provisions; (vi) status of implementation and program/project evaluation
and/or assessment reports; and (vii) annual procurement plan, contracts awarded and the
name of contractors/suppliers/consultants.