The Tertiary Education Subsidy, popularly known as TES, is a program under the Free Education Law or Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act of 2017 (RA 10931) which provides financial assistance to deserving students in tertiary education.
Under TES, eligible grantees are undergraduate students enrolled in SUCs, CHED-recognized LUCs, quality-assured private HEIs, and technical-vocational institutions (TVIs). It shall be administered by the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) Board. 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 student financial assistance program under RA 10687.
Student-beneficiaries under the Expanded Students’ Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA) program are automatically qualified for the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) under Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.
The priority beneficiaries for the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) are:
- Continuing ESGP-PA scholars in the SUCs effective A.Y. 2021-2022
- Students who are part of households included in the Listahanan 2.0 of DSWD, ranked according to the estimated per capita household income
- Student not part of the Listahanan 2.0 ranked according to estimated per capita household income based on submitted documentation of proof of income to be determined by the UniFAST Board.
The TES may cover the following:
- Tuition and other school fees in private HEIs and private or LGU operated TVIs;
- An allowance for books, supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses;
- An allowance for room and board costs incurred by the student;
- For a student with disability, an allowance for expenses related to the student’s disability including special services, personal assistance, etc.;