THE Commission on Higher Education yesterday said universal access to quality tertiary education is the main legacy of the Duterte administration, adding it also contributed a lot in fighting poverty in the country, especially in regions where poverty is still high.
This was stressed by CHED Chair Prospero De Vera III during the second day of the Duterte Legacy Summit at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), emphasizing the administration will leave a country with a better tertiary education, especially in terms of access and quality, compared to the previous ones.
Duterte’s six-year term ends on June 30.
“The most long-lasting legacy of the Duterte administration in terms of education is universal access to quality tertiary education in the country,” De Vera said.
He said the passage of Republic Act 10931 in 2017 heralded this move, allowing free education in 114 state universities and colleges (SUCs) and 106 local universities and colleges (LUCs) across the country.
“This landmark legislation which is exclusively ‘Tatak Duterte’ allowed public universities and colleges to launch a program of free tertiary education in the country,” De Vera said.
“More than free tuition, the law also put in place the tertiary education subsidy or TES and the institutionalization of the ‘Tulong Dunong’ program which provided additional assistance to poor students,” he added.
Data presented by De Vera showed that from 1.19 million college students in 2018-2019 who availed of the free tuition and miscellaneous program brought forth by the passage of RA 10931, the number climbed to 1.62 million in 2020-2021 and 1.97 million in academic year 2021-2022.
Meanwhile, from only 275, 098 TES and Tulong Dunong grantees in academic year 2018-2019, the number rose to 364,168 for 2021-2022.
As an anti-poverty measure, De Vera said majority of the grantees came from regions where poverty is high — Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Regions 13 (Caraga), 9 (Zamboanga peninsula), 8 (Eastern Visayas), 12 (Soccsksargen) and 7 (Central Visayas).
Education Secretary Leonor Briones touted the department’s “last miles school program, alternative learning system and digital education,” among other innovations, as the legacy of the Duterte administration in the country’s basic education system.
Briones said that while there are still problems facing the department, these programs are among its achievements that contributed greatly to ensuring that “no one is left behind” in having basic education.
“While there are still challenges in basic education, we have made significant progress over the past six years. We have endeavored to ensure that education must continue and that no one is left behind. This is the education legacy of the Duterte administration,” Briones said.
She said under the “last miles school” program, the DepEd and its local and international partners were able to provide 46,957 laptops and computers, 33,709 tablets and 14,401 television sets to schools in far-flung areas of the country.
“These devices are shared by 1,592,814 learners and 69,761 teachers,” Briones said.
The term “last mile school” refers to facilities with less than four classrooms, without electricity, no funding for repairs, and with a student population typically forced to travel for over an hour to attend classes.
