OVERCOMING ECONOMIC HARDSHIP AS A COMMUNITY

SDG 1 (NO POVERTY) REPORT
Academic Year 2023-2024

In recent years, De La Salle University has further  equitable access to both educational and economic opportunities. Through the use of financial assistance, policy studies, and community involvement, the University has honed a framework that effectively uplifts economically disadvantaged groups.

The St. La Salle Financial Assistance Grant continues to be one of the signature programs of the University for first-year students in need of tuition support. For Academic Year 2023–2024, students with an annual family income below ₱700,000.00 and selection was based on financial need and academic performance

The grants are complemented by other forms of aid mechanisms, including the Student Loan Program and the Student Assistantship and Resource Training (START) Program. These programs allow for interest-free loans and part-time jobs in the University to enable earning while learning. Through the START Program, students can serve as temporary personnel for at least five hours a week, helping to offset educational expenses while developing valuable professional skills. These programs continued to help students manage educational costs while gaining valuable work experience, fostering a more inclusive and supportive learning environment within the University.

Beyond financial investments, DLSU also contributes to larger economic discourse and research through the Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies. In December 2023, the institute released a policy brief titled An Analysis on the Efficiency of Philippine Microfinance Institutions: A Stochastic Frontier Approach. The study investigated how microfinance institutions (MFIs), initially designed to reach low-income earners whom commercial banks excluded, increasingly drift away into profit-oriented models. This “mission drift” compromises their outreach and effectiveness as instruments of poverty alleviation. This research calls for the need to refocus the priorities of the sector in order to keep MFIs attuned to their founding objectives.

The Institute produced 22 policy briefs that tackle issues such as fiscal policy, renewable energy, and microfinance, transforming research insights into evidence-based recommendations that advance inclusive economic growth and strengthen poverty alleviation efforts in the Philippines.

Beyond institutional investment, the university-wide student body also plays a role; the DLSU Investors’ Society spearheads experiential financial-literacy initiatives for members and peers across campus. They have been striving to spread financial literacy among students and people around them. Their programs extend beyond abstract understanding but rather experiential, hands-on workshops on budgeting, saving, and investing-skills that shall help along the path of long-term financial stability. Over 50 students who joined Manulife Philippines and DLSU Business Management Society’s Peso Smart three-week financial literacy program learned various lessons in financial planning, business resiliency, and money management, further embedding economic empowerment into the student experience.

These campaigns encompass a holistic approach to mitigate economic exclusion. In combining institutional aid with policy research and student engagement, DLSU carves out paths for people to break economic barriers. The model that DLSU adopts proves how an academic institution can become more than just a seat of learning– the University is also an engine of social mobility and economic justice. In a country where poverty is still one of the biggest battles, these programs are an example of the sustainable impact of a quality classroom for the most vulnerable members  of our society.