By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) recently released a list of Negros Occidental state colleges where students can attend tuition-free.

Starting in the 2018-2019 academic year, students are no longer required to pay tuition at Carlos C. Hilado Memorial State College, the Northern Negros State College of Science and Technology, West Visayas State University-Himamaylan Campus, the Technical University of the Philippines Visayas-Talisay, and Philippine Normal University-Cadiz City.

Last August, President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Affordable Higher Education Act of 2017, which provides free tertiary education at all state colleges and universities across the country.

Last year, the House of Representatives allotted P40 billion to fund the program in the 2018-2019 academic year; however, during Senate deliberations back in August 2017, Senator Paolo “Bam” Aquino estimated costs to be P16 billion annually, with a 10 percent increase every year./DGB, WDJ