MANILA – At least 168,000 students were denied admission to State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) due to capacity issues, Senator Win Gatchalian said.

“For me, this is injustice. Gusto natin silang mag-aral. Pero kahit na pumasa sila sa entrance exam at kulang ng capacity, hindi sila makapag-aral,” said Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance.

An analysis by Gatchalian’s office of data from 62 out of 115 SUCs showed that 32 schools (52%) exceeded their capacities, with 11 (18%) reaching 100 percent occupancy. This led to 168,493 students being unable to enroll despite qualifying for admission.

Gatchalian urged SUCs to prioritize increasing academic capacities and to submit capital outlay requirements focused on classrooms and other academic needs. He also highlighted the drop in SUCs’ capital outlay from P31 billion in 2024 to P17 billion in 2025.

“The goal here is no more displaced students. Lahat ng pumasa ng entrance exam, makakapag-aral,” he said.