INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga

CHAPTER I

Background and Its Problem

Education is one of the things needed in life and the

best future investment. It is one of the solutions in

eradicating poverty and the most powerful weapon that can

be used to change the lives of every individual.

Today’s global thrust in education is “education is

for all”. This is premised on the fact that education is

the cornerstone of a free society; the bedrock upon a

strong, healthy state is built and sustained. As an

instrument of development, it has been used as an authentic

expression of investment for productive human resources. It

has been utilized as meaningful index programs in advance

as well as developing countries. More so, it promises

knowledge which serves as a key ingredient in resolving

problems affecting the industrialization and economic

growth of the nation, and a realization of the Philippines

204, (Asco, 1998).

The 1987 Philippine Constitution under Article IV

section 3 states that “the state shall protect and promote

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Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga

the rights of all citizens for education at all levels and

take steps to make education accessible at all and to

establish and maintain system of scholarship grants,

student loans programs, subsidies and other incentives

which shall be available to deserving students in both

public schools especially to the under privilege.

The claim that education increases productivity of the

individual and the nation as a whole remains undisputed as

the inherent capacities of a person are said to find

fulfillment and application through schooling. All man, in

different walks of life has that inherent right to equality

education. Equalization of education, opportunities,

however, remains to be a controversial issue that has

confronted not only the members of the academe, but, most

of all, the common man- the poor.

It is general concept that the Philippines is

considered as third world country. As such many parents

could hardly send their children to school due to poverty

and high cost of education. This is attested by the recent

report of the presidential commission their survey to

Philippine education stating that educational opportunities

beyond the secondary level are open only to 2.6% of

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families. This apparently shows the wide gap between the

ability of the families to pay the cost of a good education

and those who cannot. It further

implies clearly that many students who have the potentials

to pursue higher education, unfortunately, cannot do so.

This revealing scenario in the Philippine Educational

System explicitly indicates the great demand for large

investment in higher education, thereby allowing

development of human resources to the fullest, which in

turn, contributes to the increase of the nation’s

productivity.

Hence, the Philippine government, in its quest for economic

progress, is giving wholehearted support in the education

of the young, in adherence to the belief that one way of

attaining a nation’s social and economic growth is to

provide a wholesome education.

Every learning institution today is focusing its

attention towards the development of students. Educational

programs and innovations are centered upon the gifted youth

and financially handicapped qualified students in a supreme

endeavor to harness their latent capabilities, potential

and talents, improve their knowledge, and stimulate their

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Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga

idealism and accessibility to education. The democratic

concept of giving opportunities to the needy but

intellectually-endowed students so as to enable them to

pursue higher education is explicitly embodied in section

(6)

of article XV of the constitution which states that:” the

state shall create and maintain scholarships for poor but

deserving students”.

The importance of investing in higher education cannot be

overemphasized. It can affect individuals’ income as well

as the nations’ progress in terms of the quality of its

labor force. However, the participation rate in the

Philippines in higher education over several decades has

remained relatively stagnant compared with our neighboring

countries like Thailand and Korea. Part of the reason for

the low participation rate can be attributed to poverty

issues as well as the financing problems of the able

students who lack sufficient funds to cover the cost of

education. Individuals and even organizations always seek

the help of capital markets to address such issues of

inadequate funds. However, the capital market is not

perfect. One cannot use his/her skill or promise for the

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Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga

rendition of service in the future as a form of collateral

in exchange of borrowing funds. This is the very reason why

the government enacted the Unified Student Financial

Assistance System for Tertiary Education Act (R.A. No.

10687) or UniFAST last May 11, 2016. It aims to allow

citizens full access to quality education by providing

adequate funding and to increase the participation rate in

tertiary education.

In order to adhere to its objectives, the UniFAST Act

(2016) will offer qualified applicants different Students

Financial Assistance Program (StuFAP) namely (a.)

scholarships, (b) grant-in-aid, (c) National Student Loan

Program (NSLP), and (d) other modalities of StuFAP.

However, the main focus of this article is on the

evaluation of the NSLP in terms of addressing the capital

market imperfection.

The UNiFAST Act (2016) provided both strengths and issues

that need great attention from the Board. Positive features

includes: UniFAST board will be partnered with both

Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Social

Security System (SSS) in conducting feasibility study to

create a system that will automatically deduct from the

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salary of the members with unpaid student loans; the NSLP

of the UniFAST Act will give priority to the top 10 best

students of all public schools; and the program will

provide a beneficial mode of payment installment basis for

the students. Such payment will only happen after the

student finished his/her program and graduated from the

chosen institution. On the other hand, the UniFAST Act

also has

some issues to be addressed which include: it failed to

identify what type of management set up is deemed

necessary. If this management will be run by a hierarchical

system, this means that part of the cost of the program

will go to the salary of this unidentified management. Will

it be more efficient if the budget will be given to

additional qualified scholars instead?; the Act only

provided the responsibilities of the not yet identified

management of the program such as prevention of overfunding

of the cost of tertiary education, establish accountability

mechanisms, sanctions, and incentives conducive to the

effective and efficient collection of loan repayments, yet

there were no specific details in terms of the mechanisms

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appropriate to use as well as the sanctions and incentives

for the student and the lender respectively.

A system that will keep a detailed allocation of funds is

necessary to monitor the cost of the program as well as

where and how the funds were used. In addition, an

accountability mechanism should be a system that will

strictly monitor the loans of the student-borrower from the

time he/she availed the loan up to the repayment of the

loan. It is also important to note that the system

includes the dates, the interest

rate, as well as the persons responsible for the

transaction for ease of tracking. Although the Act stated

that it shall encourage private sectors participation, it

failed to identify whether it includes private banks. Is

the program open from the participation of the private

banks? If such, what are the incentives the Bangko Sentral

ng Pilipinas is willing to give that will entice private

banks to actively participate in the aforementioned

program? it did not provide a sophisticated process flow

from the application up to the repayment of the loan that

will guide potential students to avail the program. It is

not stated in the IRR the coverage of the loans, the

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Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga

requirements for the applicants, the process of

application, and the system for the repayment of the loans.

In general, UniFAST Act is at its infancy stage since it

was just approved in May 2016. However, for it to be

effectively and efficiently put into action, detailed rules

and regulations must be crafted by the Board. This could

be the gateway for the Philippines to increase its

participation rate in higher education just like what

happened in Korea and Thailand. The success of UniFAST is

yet to be discovered and for it to materialize, there are

still a lot of works left for the Board to do.

The Unified Financial Assistance System for Tertiary

Education Act, or UniFAST — also known as Republic Act No.

10687 — was signed into law in 15 October last year.

UniFAST reconciles, improves, strengthens, expands, and

puts under one body all government-funded modalities of

Student Financial Assistance Programs (StuFAPs) for

tertiary education – and special purpose education

assistance – in both public and private institutions. These

modalities include scholarships, grants-in-aid, student

loans and other specialized forms of StuFAPs formulated by

the UniFAST Board.

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Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga

In the Province of Kalinga there are schools who are also

implementing the UNIFAST scholarship Programs, the biggest

implementor is the Kalinga State University, International

School of Asia and the Pacific (ISAP) Kalinga Colleges of

Science and Technology, and many more.

The inability of students and families to secure funds in

the capital market because of the presence of market

imperfection is the focus of the paper. It seeks to

evaluate the implementation of the Unified Student

Financial Assistance System in Tertiary Education (UniFAST)

will address the capital market imperfection in higher

education since the amount of benefits from finishing a

higher degree

of education is tremendous to both the individual as well

as to the society.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

It is the declared policy of the State to promote social

justice and pursuant thereto, provide all its citizens

access to quality education. Towards this end, the State

shall provide adequate funding and such other mechanisms to

increase the participation rate among all socioeconomic

classes in Tertiary Education, especially the poor but

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Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga

academically able and highly motivated students. This

policy should enable them to successfully pursue and

complete Tertiary Education programs in quality

institutions, thereby promoting equitable and Rationalized

Access by poor Filipinos to quality Tertiary Education.

The existing publicly-funded national government programs

for Scholarships, Grants-in-Aid, and Student Loans for

Tertiary Education are hereby unified and harmonized to

improve their efficiency and to ensure that deserving

Filipinos are given equitable access to educational

opportunities.

The objectives of this Act are as follows:

a. To allocate and utilize properly all government

resources intended for students through effective

beneficiary-targeting;

b. To ensure consistency, continuity, and efficient

coordination of student financial assistance policies and

programs;

c. To ensure regional, equity in the distribution of

student financial assistance slots;

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Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga

d. To produce a pool of highly qualified graduates and

technical experts who will contribute to the country’s

high-level labor force through merit and talent-based

Scholarships;

e. To facilitate access to quality education through

Grants-in-Aid for students belonging to marginalized

sectors; and

f. To assist students with liquidity issues through Student

Loans.

The UniFAST shall harmonize, reform, strengthen,

expand, rationalize, and re-focus all legislated or ongoing

StuFAPs of the government for greater efficiency,

coherence, synchronization, effective funding, and improved

coordination among implementing entities in their specific

jurisdiction: Provided, That nothing in this Act shall

prevent the

continuation of effective programs implemented by other

government agencies or of state-funded StuFAPs with

specific and targeted Beneficiaries such as existing

technical-vocational Scholarship programs under the TESDA,

Scholarships under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act

(IPRA), the National Agriculture and Fisheries Education

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Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga

System (NAFES), Agriculture Competitiveness Enhancement

Fund Scholarship (ACEFS), the Science and Technology

Scholarship Act of 1994, the Fast-Tracked S&T Scholarship

Act of 2013, the Expanded Government Assistance to Students

and Teachers in Private Education (E-GASTPE) Act, Student

Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (SGP-PA) of

the CHED and the Department of Social Welfare and

Development (DSWD) which shall continue to be under the

jurisdiction of the agencies currently responsible for

their design and implementation: Provided, further, That

the beneficiary-targeting and standards for selection and

retention and awards shall be compliant with the overall

policies on quality, sustainability and efficiency set by

the Board: Provided, finally, That the relevant government

agencies shall submit an annual report on the

implementation of their StuFAPs to the UniFAST Board.

The Board shall promulgate and periodically review the

qualification criteria of applicants for student financial

assistance. An applicant must meet the following minimum

qualifications:

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Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga

a. Filipino citizen: Provided, That the Board may grant

exemptions to foreign students based on reciprocal programs

that provide similar benefits to Filipino students, such as

student exchange programs, international reciprocal

Scholarships, and other mutually beneficial programs;

b. High school graduate or its equivalent from duly

authorized institutions;

c. Possesses good moral character with no criminal record:

Provided, That this requirement shall be waived for

programs which target children in conflict with the law

and/or those who are undergoing or have undergone

rehabilitation;

d. Admitted to the HEI or TVI included in the Registry of

Programs and Institutions of the applicant’s choice:

Provided, That applicants may begin processing their

applications within a reasonable time frame set by the

Board to give the applicant sufficient time to enroll. In

the case of an applicant in TVET programs, he/she shall, in

addition to the criteria referred above, pass the TESDA

screening/assessment procedure, trade test, or skills

competency evaluation;

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Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga

f. Declare if he/she is already a Beneficiary of any other

student financial assistance, including government StuFAP:

Provided, That if at the time of application of the

Scholarship, Grant-in-Aid, Student Loan, or other

modalities of StuFAP under this Act, the amount of such

other existing grant does not cover the full Cost of

Tertiary Education at the HEI or TV! where he/she has

enrolled in. the applicant may still avail of the StuFAPs

under this Act for the remaining portion;

g. In the case of applicant for Scholarship, he/she must

obtain at least the score required by the Board for the

Qualifying Examination System for Scoring Students; and

h. Possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed

by the Board.

The right of any Beneficiary to avail of the benefits of

the StuFAPs under this Act shall not apply if the student

fails to comply with the requirements for good academic

standing and such other conditions that may be formulated

and imposed by the Board: Provided, That the Board shall

consider the supervening circumstances of each Beneficiary

that may have

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an effect on his/her studies, such as death, lingering

illness of a family member, or other personal reasons.

The Board shall not unduly deprive eligible applicants of

student financial assistance: Provided, That said students

may be directed by the Board and/or the implementing agency

to enroll in priority courses, as may be identified by the

CHED or TESDA, based on the national development plans and

labor force demands, in order to avail of student financial

assistance: Provided, further, That the Board and/or

implementing agency shall not deny financial assistance to

applicants or Beneficiaries already enrolled in non-

priority courses, especially if the priority courses are

not offered in the Tertiary Education institution of the

student’s choice.

Paradigm of the Study

The conceptual paradigm of the study is presented in

Figure 1. The paradigm contains three boxes. The first box

encloses the inputs which is the structure of the

Scholarship Policies, the second box consist the procedure

which consist the level of awareness and the extent of

implementation of Unified Student Financial Assistance

System for Tertiary

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Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga

Education (UniFAST) in the City of Tabuk and the problems

encountered by the respondents and implementer in the

implementation of the Unified Student Financial Assistance

System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST).

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

1.To determine the level of
awareness on the
implementation of Unified Implementation of
Student Financial Assistance Unified Student
System for Tertiary Education Financial Assistance
(UniFAST) in International System for Tertiary
School of Asia and the Pacific Education (UniFAST) in
(ISAP-K) International School of
2. To determine the extent of Asia and the Pacific
implementation of Unified (ISAP-K)
Student Financial Assistance
System for Tertiary Education
(UniFAST) in International
School of Asia and the Pacific
(ISAP-K)
3. The find the problems
encountered in the
implementation of Student
Financial Assistance System for
Tertiary Education (UniFAST by
respondents and implementors

Statement of the Problem

This study assessed the Implementation of Unified

Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education

(UniFAST) in International School of Asia and the Pacific

(ISAP-K).

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Specifically, it will seek to answer the following

questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 Age

1.2 Gender

1.3 Course

1.4 Year Level

2. What is the level of awareness on implementation of

scholarship program along the following?

2.1 Objectives;

2.2 Minimum Requirements;

2.3 Scope and Coverage;

2.4 Disqualifications;

2.5 Amount of grant; and

2.6 Monitoring

3. What is the extent of implementation on the

scholarship policies in terms of the following?

2.1 Objectives;

2.2 Minimum Requirements

2.3 Scope and Coverage; and

2.4 Disqualifications;

2.5 Amount of grant; and

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2.6 Monitoring

4. What are the problems encountered by the respondents in

the implementation of the scholarship program?

Significance of the Study

The focused of the study was on the Implementation of

the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for

Tertiary Education (UniFAST) in the City of Tabuk. The

findings and results of the study are invaluably important

to the following:

The parents of Beneficiaries: The result of the study will

provide information and enhance awareness on the

scholarship program.

National Government. It provides a benchmark data. It aids

the National Government to adopt policies and

administrative reforms in support of local governance most

especially to the scholarship grants program.

Community. The results of the study help increase the

awareness of the community on government programs and

services on Scholarship assistance.

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Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga

Planners. The findings of the study serve as inputs to

further make planning truly responsive to the needs and

aspirations of the people.

Students. The findings of the study will make them aware on

the process and of the Scholarship Program in the City of

Tabuk, Kalinga.

The Researcher. The insights gained from the findings of

the study makes the researchers understand better the

policies and programs and services of the local government

units especially on its Scholarship Program.

Future Researchers. The results of the study serve as a

reference material for similar and relevant studies in the

future.

Scope and Delimitation

The study will focus on the Implementation of Unified

Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education

(UniFAST) in International School of Asia and the Pacific

(ISAP-K)

It will be delimited on level of awareness and extent

of implementation of Unified Student Financial Assistance

System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST); and the problems

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encountered by the respondents and the implementors in the

implementation of the said scholarship program. The

descriptive method of research will be used and also

descriptive statistics will be applied in the analysis of

the data due to the limitations of the research design.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are used to fully understand this

study.

Beneficiary-refers to the recipient of any modality of

Student Financial Assistance Program (StuFAP), such as

Scholarship, Grant-in-Aid, or Student Loan;

Cost of Tertiary Education-refers to (1) tuition,

miscellaneous and Other School Fees, (2) Educational

Expenses, and (3) the cost of living allowance;

Educational Expenses- refer to expenses related to the

education of a student, such as books, school supplies, and

electronic devices necessary for education, but excluding

tuition and miscellaneous and Other School Fees;

Grantee-refers to the student-beneficiary of a Grant-in-Aid

program;

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Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga

Grant-in-Aid- refers to a modality of financial assistance

to poor but eligible students which generally requires a

minimum level of competence to complete Tertiary Education;

Higher Education-refers to the stage of formal education,

or its equivalent, requiring completion of secondary

education and covering programs of study leading to

bachelor and advanced degrees;

Higher Education Institution (HEI) - refers to an

institution of higher learning, primarily offering bachelor

and advanced degree programs;

Other School Fees - refer to those fees which cover other

necessary costs supportive of instruction, including, but

not limited to, medical and dental, athletic, library and

laboratory fees;

Qualifying Examination System for Scoring Students- refers

to the appropriate annual examination and assessment of

potential Beneficiaries, which may be separately designed

for undergraduate and graduate students and adopted by the

Board for all prospective applicants for any one of the

modalities of StuFAP, as referred to in Section 15(h);

Rationalized Access - refers to improved efficiency in the

implementation of UniFAST pursuant to the principles of

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increased participation of the economically disadvantaged

and marginalized sectors, equity in the regional

distribution of economic resources, congruence of the

qualifications of Tertiary Education graduates and labor

market needs, and relevance to the country’s national

development and global competitiveness, among others;

Registry of Programs and Institutions- refers to quality-

assured academic and research programs and tertiary

institutions which have been certified by the Commission on

Higher Education (CHED) and/or the Technical Education and

Skills Development Authority (TESDA) as complying with

acceptable standards;

Scholar-refers to a student-recipient of a Scholarship

grant based on merit and/or talent;

Scholarship-refers to a modality of financial assistance

given to eligible students on the basis of merit and/or

talent, such as laudable academic performance, and special

technical proficiencies and skills and intellectual

pursuits of a Scholar that give rise to research and

development, and innovations as well as other creative

works;

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Special Purpose Education Assistance-refers to financial

assistance for the conduct of undergraduate and graduate

research, scientific studies, including funding assistance

for the writing and publication of books, manuscripts,

theses, dissertations, scientific and technical journals,

or for production, filming and digital technology

documentation of research and studies or development of

instructional and academic materials, and science

prototypes, among others;

State Universities and Colleges (SUCs)-refer to public HEIs

established by national laws which are financed and

maintained by the national government, and are governed by

their respective independent boards of trustees or regents;

Student-Borrower-refers to a student-beneficiary of the

National Student Loan Program, as defined in Section 8;

Student Financial Assistance Program (StuFAP)- refers to a

system of Scholarships, Grants-in-Aid, Student Loans,

subsidies and other incentives which are or shall be made

available to eligible students;

Student Loan-refers to a modality of student financial

assistance consisting of short-term or long-term loans

which shall be extended to students facing liquidity

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problems, regardless of economic status, which shall be

paid by the student, his/her parents, guardians, or co-

makers;

Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET)-refers

to the post-secondary education or training process which

involves, in addition to general education, the study of

technical and related fields and the acquisition of

practical skills relating to occupations in various

sectors, comprising formal (organized programs as part of

the school systems) and nonformal (organized classes

outside the school system) approaches;

Technical-Vocational Institutes (TVIs)- refer to learning

institutions offering post-secondary TVET;

Tertiary Education-refers to the stage of education

following the secondary cycle which subsumes post-secondary

nondegree diploma, TVET, and Higher Education programs; and

Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary

Education (UniFAST)-refers to the harmonized, state-run and

administered system of Higher Education and technical-

vocational Scholarships, Grants-in-Aid, Student Loans, and

other modalities of StuFAP under this Act.

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