Marcos: Free tertiary education in public universities, colleges to continue

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Wednesday vowed that his administration would remain committed to providing free tertiary education in public universities and colleges in the Philippines.

''This administration remains committed to the continuing provision of free tertiary education in public universities and colleges for qualified students as provided under the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act,'' Marcos said during the National Higher Education Day Summit. 

''We have allocated close to 134 billion pesos for our state and local universities and colleges this year so that more students can receive free tertiary education and more families will be eased of the burden of having to pay for college,'' he added. 

Marcos said the money spent on education should not be regarded as an expenditure but an investment. 

He also pointed out that democratizing access to education should not lead to the lowering of academic standards.

''Scholastic yardsticks are not movable goalposts which we change every year to improve our numbers,'' Marcos said.

''These must be regarded as firm benchmarks that are resistant to the pressures that seek to undercut the quality of that education. We must hold ourselves, our students, the entire system to a high standard and it is the only way that we will succeed in this fast-moving, changing world,'' he added. —LDF, GMA Integrated News