A TOTAL of 110,000 students are expected to benefit from the Commission on Higher Education’s (Ched) tuition-assistance program for medical students in eight state universities and colleges and victims of Typhoon Yolanda, a senior Ched official said on Tuesday.
In a news briefing, Ched Commissioner Prospero E. de Vera said the commission will provide an additional P5,000 of financial assistance to public- and private-school students enrolled in Yolanda-affected areas.
“This appropriation of about P540 million is residual money coming from Yolanda funds not utilized in 2016,” de Vera added.
“The Office of the President instructed the Ched to expedite the use of this money,” de Vera said. The financial assistance will be distributed at P5,000 each to an estimated 108,000 students in the Visayas.
De Vera added the Ched has began sending notices to public and private universities in Yolanda-affected areas, so that the one-time aid will be made available to the beneficiaries the soonest possible time.
“The students can use it to pay for their miscellaneous fees, to pay for their books, among others. It’s a one-time cash assistance long overdue because this is Yolanda-related, but we’re making sure that the release will be expedited,” de Vera said.
In addition, the Ched is also drafting, through a technical-working group, a framework for the return-service agreement for medical students availing themselves of the government’s financial assistance.
The Ched rolled out on Tuesday a P317-million tuition-assistance program for students of eight medical state universities and colleges—Mariano Marcos State University, University of Northern Philippines, Cagayan State University, Bicol University, University of the Philippines-Manila, West Visayas State University, Mindanao State University and University of the Philippines School of Health Science.
The program, students of the said schools will be granted tuition-free education. Around 2,000 students are listed by the Ched as beneficiaries of the financial aid.
On the other hand, the students must return service to the country for public service upon graduation. “For every year that they enjoy the tuition assistance, they have to stay in the country for a year. It’s a one-to-one service agreement,” de Vera said.
De Vera added the beneficiaries can opt to do their service in various capacities, which include residency in government tertiary hospitals and service at provincial hospitals and barrios.
Failure to comply with the return-service agreement will result in the beneficiary reimbursing all the government aid he or she received throughout his or her tertiary studies.
“The medical students’ tuition assistance has no income requirement. So as long as you are enrolled in a medical school, you can apply for it,” de Vera said.
Meanwhile, de Vera added the Ched is eyeing the waiver of the requirements for students from Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, applying to transfer in a Metro Manila-based school. According to de Vera, this will ease the burden on the part of the student and will assist him or her to continue on with his or her studies in spite of being displaced.