Section 2
SEC. 2. Section 4 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows: "SEC. 4. Free Higher Education in SUCs and LUCs.. - All Filipino students who are either currently enrolled at the time of the effectivity of this Act, or shall enroll at any time thereafter, in courses in pursuance of a bachelor's degree, certificate degree, or any comparable undergraduate degree in any SUC or LUC shall be exempt from paying tuition and other school fees for units enrolled in: Provided, That they pass the entrance examination and other admission and retention requirements of the SUCs and LUCs shall create a mechanism to enable students in the SUC and LUC to voluntarily opt out of the tuition and other school fees subsidy or make a contribution to the school. SUCs and LUCs shall report the tuition payments and contributions collected from these students to the CHED: Provided, further, That the amount required to implement the free tuition and other school fees in SUCs and LUCs shall be determined by the their respective governing boards of SUCs and LUCs based on the projected number of enrollees for each academic year, using the most recent available data on secondary education completion rates provided by the Department of Education (DepEd), and projected enrollment data of SUCs and LUCs, which shall be reviewed and validated by the CHED prior to its use as the primary factor in computing the annual proposed budget of SUCs and, in the case of LUCs, the CHED for such purpose, and shall in turn serve as the baseline during the preparation of the annual National Expenditure Program (NEP) by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM): Provided, finally, That the UniFAST Board shall accurately project enrollment rates and the corresponding budget requirements to ensure sufficiency of allocated resources."