Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act

The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, officially designated as Republic Act 10931, is a Philippine law that institutionalizes free tuition and exemption from other fees in state universities and colleges (SUCs), and local universities and colleges (LUCs) in the Philippines. The law also foresees subsidies for private higher education institutions. It is intended to give underprivileged Filipino students a better chance to earn a college degree.

Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act
Congress of the Philippines
  • An Act Promoting Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education by Providing for Free Tuition and Other School Fees in State Universities and Colleges, Local Universities and Colleges and State-Run Technical Vocational Institutions, Establishing the Tertiary Education Subsidy and Student Loan Program, Strengthening the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education and Appropriating Funds Therefor
CitationRepublic Act No. 10931
Territorial extent Philippines
Passed byHouse of Representatives of the Philippines
PassedMay 30, 2017
Passed bySenate of the Philippines
PassedMay 29, 2017
Signed byPresident Rodrigo Duterte
SignedAugust 3, 2017
Administered byUniversal Access to Quality Education Act
Legislative history
First chamber: House of Representatives of the Philippines
Bill citationHouse Bill No. 5633
Second readingMay 16, 2017
Third readingMay 22, 2017
Committee reportCommittee Report No. 227
Second chamber: Senate of the Philippines
Bill titleFree Higher Education for All Act
Bill citationSenate Bill No. 1304
Received from the House of Representatives of the PhilippinesJanuary 23, 2017
Member in ChargeRalph Recto, Sonny Angara et.al. and Principally sponsored by Bam Aquino
First readingJanuary 23, 2017
Second readingMarch 7, 2017
Third readingMarch 13, 2017
Status: In force

The law was filed first by senator Ralph Recto, principally sponsored by Senator Bam Aquino, and was signed by Rodrigo Duterte, President of the Philippines, on August 3, 2017. The bill is supported by almost all members of Congress In September 2017, the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations announced that P40 billion had been gathered and that this amount would finance all expenses foreseen by the law for 2018.

On March 26, 2018, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) released the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) pertaining to the Act.

Before the signing of the bill by the President, the government took the view after intense political discussions that "the long-term benefits that will be derived from a well-developed tertiary education on the part of the citizenry will definitely outweigh any short-term budgetary challenges". The government also stated that the "bottom 20 percent" was to have priority concerning the allocation of subsidies for education-related expenses.

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