By: Atty. Gregorio B. Austral, CPA
The Free College Entrance Examination Act
The President recently signed into law Republic Act No. 12006 or the “Free College Entrance Examination Act.”
The law declared that it is the policy of the State to protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and to democratize access to quality tertiary education. In line with this declared policy, and in cognizance of the need to assist disadvantaged students that show potential for academic excellence, the State shall exempt qualified graduates and graduating students from payment of entrance examination fees administered by private higher education institutions (HEIs).
Under Section 4 of the said law, all private HEIs are hereby mandated to waive the college entrance examination fees and charges imposed on qualified graduates and graduating students who are applying for college admission.
For a student entering college to be qualified, he must meet the following requirements:
- The graduate or graduating student must be a natural-born Filipino citizen;
- The graduate or graduating student must belong to the top ten percent (10%) of his or her graduating class;
- The graduate or graduating student must belong to a family whose combined household income falls below the poverty threshold as defined by the National Economic and Development Authority or cannot afford in a sustained manner to provide for their minimum basic needs of food, health, education, housing and other essential amenities of life duly certified as such by the Department of Social Welfare and Development;
- The graduate or graduating student must apply for college entrance examination to any private HEI within the country; and
- The graduate or graduating student must satisfy all other requirements as specified by the private HEI concerned.