DepEd chief Sonny Angara says 'rich students' should be excluded from free college education
Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara said that the government should refocus on free college education to give more help to deserving students since the current system is “subsidizing the kids of the rich.”
In his interview on One News’ Thought Leaders, Angara noted that “a lot” of resources, that might have gone to basic education, are being spread thinly due to the free education law, Republic Act. No. 10931, which also benefits those from well-off families.
“Even students in UP (University of the Philippines) are free, but if you look at the students who go to UP, marami may kaya. Maraming galing private school,” Angara said.
Angara, a UP alumnus, said the government should not subsidize “kids of the rich.”
“So ako—this is a controversial opinion, but I’m not afraid to say it—is that we shouldn’t be subsidizing the kids of the rich, but that’s what we’re doing with the existing implementation,” he said.
Angara noted that to resolve this gap, the government should refocus the free college education to be subsidized to "deserving" students.
“In that way, there’s no crowding out effect, you don’t crowd out the one who really needs it,” he explained.
“And those na may kaya, I mean, what’s P200,000 to a rich family? That’s not even a vacation for their family,” he continued. “They are more than willing to pay that, and yet we insist on giving it as a matter of free college education.”
For her part, his wife and education advocate Tootsy Angara echoed the sentiments.
“Just to be in the University of the Philippines is a gift because it’s the top of the top...and if you can afford it, then they should be able to actually pay for [their] education because they’re going to benefit from it in the long run,” she said.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) had previously launched a P15-million worth of research initiative to assess the admission system and retention of students in select state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the country and to address the issue of attrition rate and equity in higher education.
"If we find out that the admission system disproportionately disadvantages certain sectors. The study will now direct universities about the options that they can take to improve their admission system. So more people from public schools, from rural areas, children of indigenous communities, children of rebel returnees will be able to get in,” CHED Chairperson J. Prospero de Vera III previously said, as per the Philippine News Agency report. The initiative will focus on SUCs in three regions namely, Ilocos, Eastern Visayas, and Soccsksargen.
Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines also took the initiative to address the free education inequity. For instance, those who did not pass the UP College Admissions Test may opt for associate degrees, which could determine whether they can qualify for regular courses after two years.
In 2022, CHED reported that there are over two million SUC students have been benefitting from free tertiary education across 200 institutions nationwide. (with reports from Neil Jayson Servallos)
