As the Philippines continues to grapple with economic challenges, the government cuts off huge amounts of monetary allocations in various sectors– education being one of the top. According to the data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the national government intends to slash the budget for state universities and colleges (SUCs) next year by around P14.4 billion.
With these financial constraints to the sector of public tertiary education, it imposes threats in undermining the progress made in expanding access to higher learning and leading the future of countless students who rely on SUCs for their educational aspirations to possible catastrophe.
According to the National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted by the DBM to the Congress on July 29, the budget for SUCs in 2025 is P113.75 billion, lower by 12% compared to the P128.23 billion in total appropriations for the SUCs this year.
Of this amount, the bulk will go to personnel services, with P65.17 billion, maintenance and other operating expenses will receive P39.04 billion, and capital outlays or infrastructures will receive P9.54 billion.
With the data presented by Kabataan Partylist, there are 23 out of 116 SUCs to experience cuts in their overall budget. These 23 SUCs have their operating budget cut amounting to P516.01 billion. Alongside it, another 55 SUCs have their Capital Outlays cuts amounting to P25.69 billion which threatens the capacity of public institutions to provide quality facilities, services, and basic amenities.
Visayas State University (VSU) is also one of the 55 SUCs that will be affected by the budget cut amounting to P25.69 for their Capital Outlays. The institution which is already suffering from less funding is set to face another blow with a budget decrease amounting to P63.63 million. On top of that, VSU is set to build its own College of Medicine which might get affected due to the impending budget cuts.
The proposed budget cuts are a disaster for VSU and other SUCs. Faculty and staff from each institution will face devastating pay cuts, and the quality of education might plummet to ruins. Research and innovation initiatives will be gutted, and marginalized students seeking higher education will be most affected. It's time for the government to fully focus on prioritizing these conundrums and demand a better approach instead of just slashing the funds.
The government’s action in budget cuts with the promise of addressing the country’s financial woes is nothing but a facade. Instead of cutting the budget intended for quality education, the government should set their path on addressing the existing corruption and mismanagement of funds within the government itself.
The government should take note that there are 10 Philippine Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) who made it to the World University Ranking in 2023. And among the ten are five SUCs who made it to the list with “reporter status.” This just proves that SUCs can provide better quality education when given enough funding and support.
These budget cuts are a continuous blatant show of disrespect and incompetence of the government despite the multiple promises of providing accessible and quality education for all. Thus, these cuts will only serve as a hindrance to the goal of SUCs to go global and become world class institutions.
As the SUCs are already struggling to cope in meeting the modernization standards required for a public institution, the continuous budget cut will only hinder their provision of quality and affordable education to more underprivileged students in the country.
In light of this call, through a collective effort, VSU president Dr. Prose Ivy Yepes, together with 38 other SUC heads signed a unity statement demanding that the government restore the cuts and provide a higher budget for SUCs in 2025.
Ergo, the government must reconsider these cuts that are all in the wrong places. After all, the future of countless Filipino students relies on the accessibility of quality education. The first step is to give them the resources they need to achieve exactly this purpose. Because how can we mold them as the future of the country if we hold them back from reaching their full potential.