𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗶𝗱𝘆 – 𝗧𝘂𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝗗𝘂𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟳𝟴 𝗖𝗠𝗨 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝘀

On December 15, 2022, the new management of the City of Malabon University headed by Dr. Glen DV. De Leon, CMU OIC President, visited the Commission on Higher Education – National Capital Region Office to discuss with CHED-NCR Officials the different issues and concerns of the University with regard to compliance to various requirements of the agency.

One of the major concerns raised by the CHED Officials was the previous administration’s failure to comply with the requirements for the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES)-Tulong Dunong Program (TDP) which affected the processing and releasing of the said financial aid to 78 CMU grantees covering AY 2018-2019, AY 2019-2020, and AY 2020-2021.

As immediate action, Mayor Jeannie Sandoval, Chair of the Board of Regents, instructed the key officials of the University to facilitate the completion and submission of the requirements to fast track the processing of the subsidy. The required documents were immediately prepared and submitted by the concerned CMU Offices and assisted the grantees in processing their documents for submission to CHEd.

Upon compliance with the prescribed requirements, the CHED-NCR processed the subsidy and was issued to CMU on February 2, 2023. The university conducted a verification and validation of grantees prior to the preparation of payroll. This is to ensure compliance with government policies on disbursement of funds.

The 78 TES-TDP grantees will be informed of the schedule of distribution of financial aid once processing of payroll is completed. While the TES-TDP would be of great help to the 78 grantees, it does not address the roots.

CMU firmly believes that every student deserves equal access to quality education, regardless of their financial capacity. While we appreciate the Tulong Dunong Program’s efforts to provide assistance to our 78 beneficiaries, we firmly believe that the Unified Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) accreditation remains our top priority.

Through the UniFAST accreditation, all students of CMU will have access to free tuition, providing them with equal opportunities to achieve their dreams and fulfill their potential. We believe that this is a vital step towards building a more inclusive and equitable society.

At present, we are eagerly awaiting the issuance of the certificates of program compliance from CHED for 3 out of 16 programs CMU offers. These certificates will enable us to apply for institutional recognition which will make us eligible to apply for institutional recognition. The search for the University President has been launched and very soon, the new and qualified CMU President will be installed in consonance with CHED’s rules and regulations. Once the institutional recognition is granted, CMU would be eligible for UniFAST subsidy again.

The CMU Management will continue to cooperate with the different regulatory bodies to ensure that all issues and concerns of the institution are immediately and properly addressed, especially the completion of application requirements for Institutional Recognition and UniFAST Subsidy.