SUCs given P10 M each for modernization

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) should properly use the 2018 national budget allocation worth P10 million for the modernization of state universities and colleges (SUCs), Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo said yesterday.

“This is to ensure the success of Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. The added allocation of P10 million for each school should be utilized for the purchase of equipment to computerize SUCs,” he said.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) should complement the modernization of the SUCs by ensuring the installation of free wi-fi in all of these public education institutions, Castelo added.

Efforts to modernize free public education would have the biggest impact on the country’s aspirations for economic advancement since most young Filipinos, particularly those in the impoverished majority, rely on SUCs for a better future, according to the lawmaker.  ?

“We aspire to become world-class. We cannot be world-class without any equipment. We cannot be world-class without wi-fi that is not just free but also fast. To be world-class is to be at par with the best in the world,” Castelo stressed.

Another House member, Bernadette Herrera-Dy of party-list group Bagong Henerasyon, has filed House Bill 6972, which would lengthen the term of office of CHED commissioners to five years without reappointment. She said the present term is four years with reappointment.

“Reappointment can become a motivation to grant political favors or give in to political demands from various sectors. This bill removes that motivation, so that the CHED officials can focus on work, on their mission at CHED,“ Dy said.

Rep. Michael Romero of 1-Pacman, meanwhile, introduced another bill that would fix the maximum age for CHED appointees at 60 years.