Free tuition has opened access to higher education for millions of Filipino students, but the cost of staying in school extends beyond tuition fees. A newly signed law seeks to address these additional financial pressures by expanding government assistance for students pursuing college degrees and technical-vocational programs, particularly those from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds.
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RA 12325 Expands Support Beyond Tuition
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act (RA) 12325, which enhances the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, during a ceremony at Malacañang on Friday. The measure expands assistance for students who continue to face expenses such as books, transportation, accommodation, and daily subsistence despite the availability of free tuition.
“We hope to see them grow and thrive, and reach their full potential. But even the strongest seeds cannot flourish without fertile ground,” Marcos said.
The President noted that removing tuition fees helped eliminate a major obstacle to pursuing tertiary education, but other costs can still make it difficult for students to complete their chosen programs.
“While we have opened the doors of our public colleges, universities and technical-vocational institutions, the responsibility of the government does not end there,” Marcos said.
The reach of free higher education has also grown. In the first semester of academic year 2026–2027, the number of students benefiting from free higher education reached 2.6 million, compared to 2 million students in the previous semester.
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Shirley Agrupis said the expanded assistance includes a specific budget for students from single parents, persons with disabilities and others.
“That’s the biggest pain point in the law, because students in higher education do not live with free fees; transportation, accommodation and daily subsistence. That’s why this new act was passed to increase their allowance,” Agrupis said.
Additional Aid for Students With Costly Training
The expanded assistance is intended to supplement free higher education rather than replace it. Agrupis said the new law “is designed to really increase the subsidy on top of the free higher education.”
Students have received a total of P7,500 in allowance per school year under the CHED Tulong Dunong Program. The amount of the increased government subsidy will depend on the upcoming agreement and the 2027 budget, with Agrupis saying she hopes the allowance can be doubled.
Under the 2027 proposed budget, P35.45 billion was allocated for CHED.
Government support for students also extends to scholarship programs. Marcos said the Department of Science and Technology’s Science Education Institute increased the number of undergraduate scholars from around 45,000 scholars in School Year 2022 to 2023 to 48,520 in School Year 2025 to 2026.
Sen. Bam Aquino welcomed the changes, particularly the inclusion of financial assistance for nursing and allied health sciences students who face costly on-the-job training requirements.
“Those amendments to RA 10931, or the Free College Act, are good. First of all, it will ensure that those young people who really need it will get help,” Aquino said after attending the ceremonial signing of the law at Malacañang.
Aquino, the principal sponsor of RA 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, in 2017, said RA 12325 also includes assistance for internship and Related Learning Experience (RLE) programs, an issue he had pledged to pursue during his 2025 senatorial campaign.
“The thing we fought for, the assistance to nurses for their RLE, or related learning experience, is also included in the new law,” said Aquino, chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.
As a co-author of RA 12325, Aquino pushed for the inclusion of RLE financial assistance during the bicameral conference committee. The provision is intended to help nursing and allied health sciences students manage expenses tied to clinical training and other required experiential learning.
According to Aquino, RLE-related costs can range from P20,000 to P80,000. Such expenses can place considerable pressure on families and, in some cases, force students to abandon their studies.
“This is the fulfillment of our campaign promise to advance financial assistance for nursing and allied health sciences students,” he said.
By helping cover expenses that free tuition does not address, RA 12325 could ease financial pressure on households and help more students remain in school, particularly those pursuing programs with costly training requirements.
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