Solon: Scholarships meant to help poor, deserving studes
ROXAS CITY – The Office of Congressman Antonio Del Rosario of the First Congressional District of Capiz here has collaborated with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to help poor but deserving students acquire a college education.
The congressman's district office and the CHED Regional Office for Western Visayas awarded financial grants to 74 scholars during a presentation and awarding of grants held recently here.
The solon and CHED-6 Supervising Administrative Officer Nona Fernandez handed in the grants to the scholars from Roxas City and the municipalities under the first congressional district, assisted by Dennis Cañas, program coordinator for the congressman's office.
The scholars together with their parents beamed with joy upon receiving the checks for the educational grants from the congressman and CHED official. Fernandez, coordinator of the program in the region, pitched in for CHED Regional Director Isabel Mahler.
The scholarship grant is part of a state scholarship program called CHED Special Study Grant Program for Congressional Districts (CHED-SSGD) which is open to poor but deserving college qualifiers from the 240 congressional districts of the country to enroll in a course and in any curriculum year level in public higher educational institutions or state universities and colleges and CHED supervised institutions.
The scholarship grant entitles beneficiaries to financial assistance to help defray their tuition, basic school fees and monthly stipends out of the Higher Education Development Fund.
Del Rosario said he is happy that there is such a scholarship program because it would help students from poor families earn a college degree. The solon also pledged to appropriate funds to grant full additional financial assistance to scholars who are only entitled to a one-year grant under the program.
CHED also has established a study grant program involving the country's senators dubbed CHED -Senate Study Grant Program. The program is also in line with the thrust of government to further widen the access of poor but deserving students to higher education opportunities.
Each of the Senators is allotted twenty scholarship slots. Grantees may take any four-year degree course of their choice preferably in a state college or university.
The CHED scholarship programs are one of the measures being undertaken by the Arroyo administration to mitigate food and energy security problems. The Regional Development Council (RDC) chaired by Antique Gov. Sally Zaldivar-Perez has launched an information campaign to create public awareness about the measures.
The campaign is spearheaded by the RDC Sub-Committee on Communication and Advocacy headed by PIA Regional Director lawyer Ma. Janet C. Mesa. (PIA-JSC/CHED)