Cayetano says state colleges to get P16.8 B in sub

The country’s 110 state colleges and universities (SCUs) have been allotted a total of P16.8 billion in government subsidy under the proposed P780-billion national budget for 2002, Sen. Renato Cayetano said yesterday.

Cayetano, chairman of the Senate committee on education, said that the allotment is 10 percent higher than the SCUs’s current subsidy from the national government.

He has endorsed the government’s performance-based financing scheme for SCUs. Under the scheme, the amount of the subsidy would depend on the performance or each college or university in terms of percentage of successful examinees in licensure examinations and accreditation as centers of excellence and development.

Apart from the budgetary support, Cayetano said SCUs would enjoy flexibility to generate their own funds under the Higher Education Modernization Act of 1997.

"We expect the budget for SCUs to be augmented substantially by internally generated funds next year," Cayetano predicted.

He said SCUs would be able to use revenue from tuition fees and proceeds from other income-generating projects and activities for their instruction, research and extension services. — Efren Danao