FULL SCHOLARSHIPS. University of Cebu Chairman Augusto Go announces 2,645 fully funded Tesda scholarships for Hospitality and Tourism Management at UC-METC on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. Highlighting the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, Go urged the public to avail of the nearly P100,000 annual subsidy before classes start on Dec. 15. (Photo by Claudine Flores)

UC-METC opens 2,645 full scholarship slots

Published on:

Dec 05, 2025, 1:09 pm

THE University of Cebu–Maritime Education and Training Center (UC-METC) announced on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, the opening of 2,645 fully funded scholarship slots for diploma programs in Hospitality and Tourism Management.

UC Chairman Augusto Go urged the public to apply before the Dec. 15, 2025 deadline, saying the Tesda-backed program can help those who were not able to go to college pursue their dreams.

“The government provides personal allowance, book allowance—everything is free, nearly peso P100,000 per student per year. This is my appeal to you -- please take advantage of it,” Go said.

The program is implemented in partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) 7, following Tesda’s cost schedule issued on Feb. 14, 2023, which allocates 45,000 per scholar per semester for tuition, assessment fees, uniforms, instructional materials and a training support fund.

Go appealed to the public to help disseminate the information, emphasizing the level of government support provided to each scholar.

Go said UC received the final approval only on Thursday, Dec. 4; and as of Friday, UC METC recorded only 296 enrollees out of the 2,645 available slots.

He urged the public to maximize the opportunity, stressing that Filipinos are already paying for these government programs.

“Look, we are paying taxes already—heavily. Whenever you ride a jeepney, you pay gasoline tax, road tax, income tax. Let us make use of our money for this, not for contractors, so please help me,” Go said.

Go assured the public that UC will handle the funds with integrity.

“I will not misuse this. UC, I promise you, will not misuse it,” he said.

Process

Qualified students will be issued their own Landbank ATM cards where the funds will be directly downloaded. They will then use the funds to pay for their own tuition and fees.

Tesda has mandated that classes start on Dec. 15. Go also reminded the public that the program is time-bound.

Go warned that unfilled slots may result in unused funds being returned to the National Government.

Go explained that if only 1,000 slots are filled, UC will still accommodate those students, but no additional slots will be added for the next school year. This means that only 1,000 scholars can continue within the program cycle.

UC Director for Technical Education Dennis Samar said the university applied for the program in 2024, and Tesda approved it on Aug. 29, 2024, after UC submitted its absorptive capacity for 2024 and 2025. Tesda issued the notice to proceed just last Nov. 28 and officially awarded it to UC on Dec. 4, 2025.

To avail of the scholarship, applicants must submit the following: original Form 137 or Form 138 (transcript of records), certificate of good moral character, and birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Requirements should be submitted directly to UC-METC, which accepts applications Monday to Friday and half-day on Saturday. (CDF)