Tuition-and-allowance loans sa mahihirap na estudyante

ISA na namang makabuluhang panukalang batas ang isinusulong ni Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada. Ito ay ang National Student Loan Program for the Poor (Senate Bill 2025) na naglalayong maglaan ng pautang na pang-tui­tion at allowance sa mahihirap na kabataan na magiging “Iskolar ng Bayan.”

Alinsunod sa panukala, magpupundar ang pamahalaan ng National Student Loan Fund na pangangasiwaan ng DepEd at DSWD. Ang mga magiging Iskolar ay pipiliin batay sa socio-economic evaluation hinggil sa kita at gastusin ng kanilang pamilya, gayundin sa academic performance ng estudyante sa nakaraang taon ng kanilang pag-aaral.

Itinatakda nito ang mga sumusunod:

— The loan shall be available for undergraduate degree courses; with amount equivalent to the prevailing cost per academic unit at the University of the Philippines multiplied by 21 units, and applicable to the school of choice of the Iskolar. Upon approval of loan, an amount equivalent to the tuition of the Iskolar can immediately be drawn upon presentation of proof of registration. Balance can be drawn in five equal monthly installments starting on the first month of the semester for schools using the semestral system, or four equal monthly installments for those with trimestral system.

— The loans shall carry an annual interest rate of 5%, payable (by the Iskolar) over five years commencing on the first year after his/her graduation. Amortizations shall be deductible from salary in the case of employed graduate Iskolar or paid directly to the Fund in the case of self-employed graduate Iskolars.

Ayon kay Jinggoy, “The importance of providing access to higher education for the poor cannot be over-emphasized. There is a great need to provide a national student loan program to assist the poor and the needy by giving them access to tertiary education. Indeed, we will only be able to attain our vision of becoming the next economic tiger of Asia by educating the less fortunate of our Filipino people.”