Help is a Must

How many Filipino youths are able to finish college?

      

Too few, we think, as a proportion of the total number of youths of college age, mainly because their parents simply can't afford to support their education for four long years.

      

The very bright ones but of meager means, of course, can easily get scholarships from both government and private institutions. But what about those with good grades in high school  but have no means to pay tuition, books and other expenses to be able to secure a college degree that would be their passport to a better life? 

      

Helping these students is the aim of a bill known as the Unified Financial Assistance System for Higher and Technical Education, or UniFAST, which was  recently ratified by the Senate and the House of Representatives.

      

UniFAST seeks to streamline the process by which college scholarships, grants-in-aid, and low-cost educational loans can be given to qualified students.

      

The proposed bill will allow a bigger number of qualified college students from disadvantaged families to access public-funded scholarships and other forms of financial support.

      

UniFAST will facilitate the delivery of state-funded scholarships and all forms of student financial assistance through the proper targeting of beneficiaries and the adoption of uniform standards for selection and retention.

      

A board consisting of representatives from CHED, DOST, TESDA, DOLE, NEDA and associations private higher educational institutions will synchronize all financial aid programs based on a unified and definite set of guidelines and targets.

      

This board will address the issues arising from the fragmentation of scholarship programs, the flawed targeting of recipients, and the insufficient allocation of funds per student.

      

The government is on the right track in  making college education accessible to as many of Filipino youths as possible through scholarships and other forms of assistance. If the Constitution says that the State shall give priority to education, it stands to reason that the lion's share of the national budget should go to the education  department. An investment in the education of the youth, after all, is an investment in  the future of our country as well. –End-

Image by: newscenter.sdsu.edu