links: http://www.gov.ph/2014/02/26/higher-education-gets-p1-05-b-boost/
Higher Education gets P1.05-B boost
Secretary Abad: Fund release includes P485M for scholarships
In line with President Benigno S. Aquino
III’s commitment to advance higher education in the country, the Aquino
administration—through the Department of Budget and Management
(DBM)—has given the go signal for the release of P1.05 billion to the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for the provision of college
scholarships nationwide, as well as the implementation of the agency’s
key programs and projects.
The release was charged against CHED’s
Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF) under the Special Account in
the General Fund (Fund 151.
“This latest release to CHED not only
boosts our efforts to expand the development of higher education in the
country. In very practical terms, these funds will allow the government
to provide ample financial support to promising students all over the
country, many of whom have a difficult time paying for their tuition
from one semester to the next. This means we’ll have more high school
graduates proceeding to college and gaining the skill-sets necessary to
their chosen careers,” Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad said.
“When the Aquino administration
abolished the Priority Assistance Development Fund (PDAF), we needed to
find a way to ensure the government’s continuous aid to scholars who
previously benefited from legislator-endorsed projects. We couldn’t
simply halt the scholarships just because we struck out the PDAF from
the National Budget. The clear solution was to allocate the funds to
CHED so we could maintain tuition assistance to deserving college
students in need,“ he added.
Scholars from Region IV-A will corner
the biggest portion of the P484.8-million release with an allocation of
P57.8 million. Not far behind are the allocations for Regions III and
VI, with P42.8 million and P40.6 million, respectively, as well as the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which bagged a P40-million
appropriation in CHED scholarships.
“Having successfully brokered a peace
deal with the Bangsamoro in January this year, the Administration is
determined to ramp up public service delivery in ARMM communities to
fast-track their growth. Part of that drive is opening up more
opportunities for Bangsamoro youth to complete their tertiary education,
so they can look forward to a future of greater economic empowerment,”
Abad said.
Aside from the provision for
scholarships, the P1.05-billion release will also support CHED’s
nationwide roll-out of institutional development initiatives (P234.3
million); rationalization of programs, standards, and guidelines (P114.5
million); and various research and development programs (P214.4
million), all of which are slated for implementation this year.
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