Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, a key figure in the enactment of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, has filed a bill in the 20th Congress aimed at further expanding the coverage of the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES).

Go stressed that while the landmark 2017 law has benefited millions of students, more needs to be done to address inequities and improve access to quality education across both public and private institutions.

“Education is undeniably essential to inclusive growth,” Go stated in the bill’s explanatory note, highlighting that most out-of-school youth come from low-income families. He called this a “great irony” given education’s potential to lift families out of poverty.

The bill proposes including qualified students from private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Technical-Vocational Institutions (TVIs) in the TES program. This would particularly benefit students in areas where public institutions are unavailable or do not offer their desired programs.

The measure introduces an expanded prioritization scheme, making students in private HEIs and TVIs eligible for TES under specific conditions, such as when comparable degree programs are not available locally in public schools. Under the proposal, TES recipients would continue receiving support until they complete their programs, provided they meet institutional requirements.

A key provision is the introduction of a voucher system for poor and academically qualified students attending private HEIs and TVIs, even in cities and municipalities with existing public institutions.

This is detailed in a newly inserted Section 7A: “There shall be a proportional budgetary allocation to support poor and academically qualified students through a voucher system to be administered by the UniFAST Board that shall allow beneficiaries to study in private HEIs and private TVIs in cities and municipalities where there are existing SUCs, LUCs and public TVIs.”