GSIS offers programs to help members fund their children’s college education amid pandemic

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is offering two programs for education expenses of the members’ children.

The programs are the GSIS Financial Assistance Loan-Educational Loan (GFAL-EL) and GSIS Educational Subsidy Program (GESP).

GSIS president and general manager Rolando Ledesma Macasaet explained that these programs are expected to help members cope with the adverse impact of the pandemic.

“Itong educational loan po natin ay alinsunod sa utos po ni President Duterte and Senator Bong Go para tulungan po ang ating active members sa bayarin sa tuition fees nga kanilang anak o pamangkin,” Macasaet said during the Mugstoria Ta, an online conversation hosted by Assistant Secretary Jonji Gonzales of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas.

The state pension fund had launched the P20-billion “study now, pay later” program in October this year to ensure that the children of GSIS members could still continue their education. What makes GFAL-EL different from other loan program is that it is a ‘study now, pay later’ program.

GSIS members can apply for educational loan of up to P100,000 each year for two student-beneficiaries under the program. The two must be related to him or her up to the third degree of consanguinity or affinity and enrolled in a four-or five-year course in a private or public educational institution.

To avail of the GSIS educational loan, members should have at least 15 years of government service.

The loan, which will be charged with an interest rate of eight percent per annum,

has a term of ten years. However, they will not be required to pay for amortization in the first five years.

“So, they don’t have to worry about the tuition of their children for the first five years,” Macasaet said.

The loan proceeds will be directly paid to the school under the student’s account every semester or trimester until the beneficiaries finish their courses.

Loan applicants must not be on leave of absence without pay, have no pending administrative or criminal case, and have no past due GSIS loans (including housing loans).

They must also meet the required net take-home pay of P5,000 after deduction of their monthly premium contributions and loan amortizations, and their agencies must not be on suspended status.

The loans have insurance coverage to protect the interest of the borrowers and their beneficiaries. Aside from the educational loan, GSIS also offers a yearly P10,000 allowance children or dependents of its low-income members through the GSIS Educational Subsidy Program (GESP).

The P100-million educational subsidy program is in support of the social development policy of President Duterte to provide wider access to quality college education to the marginalized sector, Macasaet said.

It complements Republic Act No. 10931 or the 2017 Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education which provides free tuition and miscellaneous fees to enrollees of state colleges and universities. To extend aid to more recipients, we are offering GESP to a wide number of members.

GSIS selects 10,000 children or dependents of members with the lowest annual basic salary from among the applicants nationwide.

The program is open to all active GSIS members with permanent employment status who are occupying salary grade 24 (or its equivalent) and below, who meet other requirements.

The subsidy will be given to dependents who have been accepted for any four- or five-year course in any university or college recognized by the Commission on Higher Education.

The grantees will continue to receive educational subsidy until they finish their college course. However, they have to meet the scholastic requirement of 80 percent general weighted average and has no failing grade or incomplete mark incurred in any subject within the preceding semester or term of the academic year. The application requirements can be accessed on the GSIS website, gsis.gov.ph.