President Rodrigo Duterte has made it official – free tuition in colleges and universities. This is a huge win for all Filipino people. The fact that Duterte signed it into law even after strong opposition from his own economic managers shows how much Duterte cares for the future of this country.
Yes it was a Liberal Party senator who authored the law – let us give him credit for that – but it took a Dutertador to actually have the guts to pass it into law. Let us all stop fighting over who should get credit for this huge win. Who gets the credit for this major legislation is not important – what is important is that the Filipino people wins!
There are still people who criticize the law claiming the government does not have the funds for this program. This criticism is now moot and academic, the government has to find the funds now. Passing the law is the first step – now the hard work needs to start. The administration allies in Congress and Senate need to work together to find a bi-partisan solution to funding this program.
Many people also criticize the law stating it is too broad and claims it only benefits the upper-middle class and the rich. They say that since the law provides free tuition to all students without regard for their income, the law will end up subsidizing the rich. They say students who go to college usually come from relatively well off families and so providing them with free college tuition will still leave the poor behind. This argument is not grounded on facts but relies on a very flawed perception of the poor. Their criticism assumes that the poor usually do not go to college for other reasons other than the cost of tuition. They claim that even if tuition is free, the poor will still not go to college for some reason. They say the best policy should have been one that provides free tuition to the most needy – the poor. The funny thing about this argument is that it still runs against their initial argument that cost of tuition is not the main reason students form poor families do not go to college. They do not even attempt to answer this question – if cost of tuition is not the main barrier to entry, how does screening recipients of free tuition remove the real barrier to entry?
The brilliant part about the new legislation is the fact that it elevates the importance of tertiary education in to a true social good. One that is provided by government as a social safety net for everyone. It is a social program that raises everyones floor – not only for a select few. This new legislation turns tertiary education into a public good, not a privilege available only if you are poor enough. The new legislation not only reinforces education as a public good but it reaffirms the governments intergenerational responsibility to its future generation.
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