Alexandria Marie Sombiro
2018-09455
Eng 13 WFY3
Essay 2 (First Draft)
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN THE SOCIALIZED TUITION SYSTEM
(STS) AND THE UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO QUALITY TERTIARY EDUCATION ACT
Around 40 percent of higher education systems around the world now consider
themselves “free.” In countries like Argentina, Finland, Cuba, and Norway, any student who
graduates from high school is guaranteed a slot to a public educational institution for free.
However, the case only applies to the aforementioned and there is no subsidy granted for other
individuals without a high school diploma (de Gayardon, 2017). Consequently, in Denmark and
Sweden, the same policy is implemented except for international students who are required to
pay the regular tuition fee. In 2005, the Danish Parliament decided that starting August 2006,
international students must pay full tuition fees for higher education in Denmark. It was then the
first country to charge fees for international students. They justified this by saying that Denmark
wants to avoid “...third countries sending students to Danish universities with a view to the
Danish government paying for their education in whole or in part.” The law also aimed to enable
institutions to attract the best-qualified students from third countries to Danish Master’s
programmes through a scheme offering scholarships and free places to stay (Nordic Council of
Ministers, 2013). Other countries like Ireland abolished tuition fees in 2007 but raised nominal
fees that are now much higher than the previous tuition fees. In fact, third-level students in
Ireland pay the second highest fees in Europe amounting to ​€3,000​, next only to the United
Kingdom with nominal fees up to ​€10,000 per year​ (O’Brien, 2017). This was implemented by
the country to cover administrative costs while the tuition fees are at zero. However, the most
common scheme, globally, is to choose particular schools that will be subsidized by the
government and become completely free of charge. This makes some public schools free and the
others remain with required tuition fees. In ex-Soviet countries like Lithuania, Kazakhstan, and
Turkmenistan, as well as nations in East Africa, this scheme is practiced. As a result, it often
causes an influx of students wanting to enroll in a specific school offering these services. To
regulate the number of students that enter these institutions, certain measures are taken by
education systems in some countries. For example, in Brazil and Ecuador, standardized entrance
tests are given to students in order for them to gain access to the public institutions (de
Gayardon, 2017). Effectively, this kind of system still does not guarantee universal access to all
individuals as it still favors students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds who can afford
high school education.
In the Philippine context,​ it was the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) that
provided partial funding and scholarships to disadvantaged students in the past. This, however,
could also only be accessed by means of passing a standardized test. A 2011 statistic suggests
that CHED experienced a decrease in funding. Only ₱1.69 billion was allocated compared to
₱2.54 billion in 2010. Because of this decrease, no additional funds were given to finance
disadvantaged students and funding for CHED’s scholarship program decreased from ₱1.15
billion in 2010 to only ₱501 million in 2011 (Marcucci & Usher, 2012).​ Currently, the Philippine
government has implemented the ​Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act under
Republic Act 10931. The provisions include the subsidy of 112 state universities and colleges
(SUCs), 78 local universities and colleges (LUCs), and all technical-vocational education and
training programs (Congress of the Philippines, 2017; Cepeda, 2018). One of the SUCs currently
following this law is the University of the Philippines System.
References
Cepeda, M. (2018, March 17). 8 things you need to know about the free tuition law. Retrieved
November 9, 2018, from https://www.rappler.com/
Congress of the Philippines. (2017, August 3). Republic Act No. 10931. Retrieved November 9,
2018, from https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2017/ra_10931_2017.html
Gayardon, A. D. (2017). Free Higher Education: Mistaking Equality and Equity. International
Higher Education,(91), 12. doi:10.6017/ihe.2017.91.10127
Marcucci, P., Usher, A. (2012). ​2011 Year in Review: Global Changes in Tuition Fee Policies
and Student Financial Assistance​. Toronto: Higher Education Strategy Associates.
Nordic Council of Ministers. (2013). ​Tuition fees for international students: Nordic practice​.
Denmark: Nordic Council Of Ministers. http://dx.doi.org/10.6027/TN2013-516
O'Brien, C. (2017, November 01). Irish third-level students pay second-highest fees in Europe.
Retrieved November 9, 2018, from https://www.irishtimes.com/