Thursday, July 05, 2007 Science dep’t intensifies scholarship program
BONTOC, Mountain Province - To give a chance to poor but deserving students inclined to science, mathematics and engineering courses, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) continues to sustain its scholarship program.
Mountain Province Provincial Science and Technology Officer Norberto Cobaldez said DOST scholarship is now catering only to the four to five-year degree program. The one to three-year degree program is under the Technical Skills Development Authority (Tesda).
The DOST program differs from other scholarship grants because of its rigid screening procedure.
In the province, five out of 175 examinees passed the scholarship examination. The scholars are required to enroll in any of the state universities and colleges or tertiary institutions identified as Commission on Higher Education (Ched) Centers of Excellence/Centers of Development.
Under the program, each scholar is entitled to a tuition and other school fees not to exceed P4,500 per semester, allowance for prescribed textbooks and essential school supplies at P3,000 per academic year, outright grant for prescribed military science/physical education uniform of P500 for first semester, first year only, and group health and accident insurance.
A monthly living allowance of P4,000 is given to scholars who will pursue physics and physics teaching courses, and P3,000 to scholars who will pursue other DOST-SEI priority courses.
Additional privileges during summer would also be given if required in the curriculum, including tuition and other school fees not to exceed P1,500, actual purchase of textbooks and essential school supplies not to exceed P500, monthly living allowance.
Qualified to apply in this scholarship program are graduating high school students who are poor but talented and deserving, who belong to a family whose socio-economic status does not exceed the set values of certain indicators as approved by the advisory committee on the science and technology scholarships.
DOST also offers Philippine Science High School scholarship to deserving graduating elementary pupils who are willing to be trained under a curriculum designed to prepare them for careers in science and technology.
There are only two pupils in Mountain Province who passed the scholarship and they are required to enroll in any of the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) campuses established in the country.
There are no PSHS campuses established within the Cordillera. The nearest PSHS campus to Mountain Province is in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.
Scholars under the program are entitled to free tuition, free loan of textbooks, and monthly living allowance for 10 months - the amount of which would be based on certain socio-economic indicators.
Qualifications under this program include graduating elementary pupils who belong to the upper 10 percent of the school batch as certified by the school principal or have special aptitude in science and math as supported by report card and letters of recommendation.
He/she must be a Filipino citizen with no pending application as immigrant in any foreign country, he must not be more than 15 years of age by June, must be in good health and fit to undergo a rigorous academic program, has a good moral character, and must not have taken the PSHS National Competitive Examination previously.
