THE Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MBHTE-BARMM) is set to grant scholarship to some 7,000 scholars through its program for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

MBHTE Minister Mohagher Iqbal said the scholarship package includes skills training, entrepreneurship training, values transformation training and national assessment.

Each of the scholars is set to receive a training support fund of P100 daily.

Iqbal said the program is designed to increase the access to TVET especially at the community level, in support to the call for "Moral Governance"; to respond to the 12-point agenda of the BARMM, which includes addressing the pressing challenges on education and poverty; and to provide meaningful assistance to the beneficiaries through collaborative governance.

Iqbal said the technical skills training and educational program is also part of the implementation of the normalization process contained in the Annex on Normalization of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

“This [TVET] is ultimately inclined to the needs of respected communities with great emphasis to Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro National Liberation Front, indigenous people, and marginalized sectors of the society,” Iqbal added.

He said that applicants, aged from 20 to 60 years old, are qualified to enroll for the scholarship program as long as they are currently not recipients of other government scholarships and are not in education or training.

Iqbal emphasized that “Bangsamoro people, including non-Muslims, are welcome to apply as long as they are residents of the regional provinces of BARMM, including the 63 villages in North Cotabato.”

The scholarship program is a first of its kind in BARMM. (SunStar Zamboanga)