OVER 200,000 students were not able to get financial aid from the Commission on Higher Education because the agency lacked funds, its chairman, Prospero De Vera III, said.

“Our funds are just sufficient to cover continuing beneficiaries. Hindi po kami makakapagbukas for new applications kasi wala po kaming pondo para sa new application,” De Vera said when he presented the agency’s P30-billion budget for next year before the appropriations panel of the House of Representatives.

Because of its failure to get additional funds, 205,584 students were not able to get financial aid. These students were first-time applicants to the Tertiary Education Subsidy program, which provides assistance to students attending private schools in communities without public universities or colleges and those from families who qualify for the Unconditional Cash Transfer Program.

There were 364,743 TES beneficiaries for Academic Year 2021 to 2022, he said.

“We can only commit to provide TES to continuing TES beneficiaries for Academic Year 2022 to 2023,” De Vera said.

Kabataan Party-list Raoul Manuel said that Congress must address the issue.

“This trend of CHED not having enough funds for its financial assistance should be reversed,” he said.

“We cannot say here in Congress that we are prioritizing education if we are going to allow this,” Manuel added.