The Free College Law Just Changed: What RA 12325 Adds

Free tuition at state schools was never the whole law. The subsidy that pays for everything else is where the change happened.

Last reviewed: September 13, 2026General legal information, not legal advice
News hook: On September 4, 2026, President Marcos signed Republic Act No. 12325, amending RA 10931, the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. The amendments create a prioritization system in the CHED Tertiary Education Subsidy giving highest priority to students from households enrolled in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps); expand what the subsidy may cover to include internships and Related Learning Experiences, professional licensure requirements, and additional allowances for students with disabilities; establish a single learner reference code tracking beneficiaries from secondary to tertiary education; direct CHED and TESDA to set up formal committees to resolve student complaints; and pilot assistance for disadvantaged students in qualified private colleges and technical-vocational institutions.

Legal question

What does the free tertiary education law actually give you, who gets priority now, and what can you do when a school charges you a fee it should not?

Applicable laws and rules

Why this matters

Free tuition is one of the most widely known Philippine laws and one of the most widely misunderstood. It covers tuition and other school fees at state institutions — it does not cover the costs that actually stop poor students from finishing: transport, board, books, the fees for practicum and licensure.

That gap is what the Tertiary Education Subsidy was meant to close, and the subsidy has always been the rationed part of the system. Free tuition is universal at covered schools; the subsidy is limited by appropriation, which means someone decides who gets it.

RA 12325 changes that allocation rule in favor of the poorest households, and it widens what the money can be spent on. For a 4Ps family deciding whether a child can realistically finish a degree, those are the two variables that matter.

What RA 10931 already gave you

Start with the baseline, because the amendments sit on top of it. The 2017 law has three distinct components that are frequently conflated:

The law also has real exceptions people discover too late. A student who has already obtained a bachelor's degree, or who fails to comply with the admission and retention policies of the institution, or who fails to complete the program within one year beyond the prescribed period, may lose free tuition coverage. Students may also opt out voluntarily. And free tuition covers tuition and other school fees as defined by CHED — not every charge a school can invent.

The prioritization change

This is the core of RA 12325. The Tertiary Education Subsidy now allocates more slots to students from the poorest households through an explicit prioritization system, with students from 4Ps households at the highest priority.

The practical significance depends on understanding that TES has always been rationed. Where a subsidy is limited by appropriation and demand exceeds supply, the ranking rule determines who is actually funded. Moving 4Ps households to the top of that ranking is a substantive reallocation, not a statement of aspiration.

The single learner reference code supports it. By tracking a learner with one identifier from secondary through tertiary education, the government can target the subsidy at students already identified as coming from poor households, rather than relying on each applicant to assemble proof at the point of application — which is itself a barrier for the households the program is for.

What the subsidy can now pay for

The expansion of coverage is the change most likely to affect a student's ability to finish. Under the amendments, financial assistance may cover tuition and other school fees plus reasonable allowances for:

The licensure inclusion deserves emphasis. A graduate who cannot afford the board examination has a diploma and no profession. Extending the subsidy to that stage addresses a failure point that occurs after the education itself has been fully funded.

The private school pilot

RA 12325 establishes a pilot program that may provide assistance to disadvantaged students taking priority programs in qualified private colleges and technical-vocational institutions.

Two limits are built into the words. It is a pilot, so it is a limited program rather than a general entitlement at private schools. And it is confined to priority programs at qualified institutions — meaning both the course and the school must be on the approved lists, which CHED and TESDA will define. Anyone planning around it should confirm that a specific program at a specific school is covered before enrolling on the strength of it.

The new complaint mechanism

The amendments direct CHED and TESDA to establish formal committees to resolve student complaints. This is a modest-sounding provision with real practical value, because the most common problem under RA 10931 has never been the text of the law — it is schools charging fees the law does not permit, or applying retention policies in a way that strips coverage.

Until now, a student in that position had no obvious forum: complain to the school that charged the fee, or write to CHED with no defined process. A formal committee with a defined procedure gives the entitlement an enforcement route, which is what converts a statutory right into a practical one.

Fees a school should not be charging you

Because the complaint mechanism now exists, it is worth knowing what to complain about. At a covered state institution, tuition and other school fees are free for qualified students. Schools nonetheless routinely bill items that are contested or improper:

Genuinely outside coverage are things like fees for optional services the student chose, penalties for lost property or damage, and costs at institutions that are not SUCs, LUCs, or state-run tech-voc schools — where the route is the TES rather than free tuition.

What individuals should know

If your household is in 4Ps, apply for the Tertiary Education Subsidy and say so clearly in the application, because you are now at the highest priority tier. Applications run through UniFAST and the institution's financial assistance office, and there are deadlines tied to the academic term — the priority is worth nothing if the application is late.

If you are already receiving TES, check whether the expanded coverage reaches costs you are currently paying yourself: practicum and internship expenses, licensure review and examination fees, and disability-related allowances. These are new inclusions, so an award computed under the old rules may not reflect them, and the implementing rules will determine how existing beneficiaries transition. Ask your school's financial assistance office in writing.

If a covered state institution is charging you tuition or other school fees, raise it first in writing with the school, then with CHED or TESDA through the new complaint committees. Keep the assessment form, the official receipts, and the enrollment records — a fee dispute is proved by the paperwork. And note the standard caution with any newly signed statute: the detailed mechanics, including the pilot's coverage and how the prioritization is operationalized, will be set out in implementing rules and regulations that follow the law rather than accompany it.

Ask PHLaw.AI

Try: "I am from a 4Ps household and starting college this year. Am I now given priority for the Tertiary Education Subsidy, and does it cover my practicum and board exam fees?"

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