Diokno pushes for P11 billion hike in free tertiary education budget

June 27, 2018

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Wednesday at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) Midterm Convention that the Department of Budget and Management has proposed an increase of P11 billion for the Free Tertiary Education Program of the Duterte Administration.

Diokno shared the present spending for the government’s Free Tertiary Education Program is at P40 billion. He has proposed to increase this to P 51 billion for 2019.

Of this amount, P44 billion is proposed to be released to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) while P 7 billion will be allocated to Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Diokno advised the audience, composed of presidents and top executives of state universities and colleges, to invest in competent faculty.

“Invest in competent faculty. It accounts for more than half of student performance, more than the buildings,” he said. DMS