PGMA’s “One Town, One Scholar” program takes offhttp://www. op.gov.ph/ index.php? option=com_ content&task= view&id=21497& Itemid=2
MANILA
(PND) -- President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s "One Town, One Scholar"
program that will ensure the college education of at least one bright
and deserving but poor high school senior from each of the country’s
1,500 municipalities every year, finally takes off the ground this
school year (SY) 2009-2010.
The implementation of the program
starting June this year was finalized in a Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA) signed Thursday night during the 6th National Directorate Meeting
of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) at the Torre
Venezia Hotel along Timog Avenue in Quezon City.
Signatories to
the MOA are LMP president and Binalonan, Pangasinan Mayor Ramon Guico,
Secretary Hermogenes Esperon, Presidential Management Staff (PMS)
chief, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairman Emmanuel Angeles,
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary
Eduardo Soliman, Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary Vilma
Labrador, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Undersecretary
Mario Relampagos, and PASUC president Dr. Lauro Tacbas.
Esperon
said the program will ensure that the best and brightest public high
school graduate from each of the country’s 1,500 municipalities,
especially those who have no financial means, will get a college
education.
For SY 2009-2010, Relampagos said CHED would allocate
P46.35 million from its existing budget for the program, while
succeeding funding requirements for the scholars would be incorporated
under CHED’s annual proposed budget.
Guico assured that LMP
fully supports the program and will encourage local government units to
augment the scholarship benefits for their town scholars. He foresees
the doubling or even tripling of the number of town scholars shortly,
depending on the capacity of member municipalities.
Dr. Tacbas
said the "One Town, One Scholar" program is one huge help for poor
students since poverty is the main cause of dropouts in the 110 state
universities and colleges nationwide.
By next week, Angeles said
they would come up with the implementing rules and regulations for the
scholarship program and the MOA would be immediately disseminated to
the 17 CHED regional offices nationwide.
“We will come up with
the implementing rules and regulations and we hope that by May we will
be ready with our first set of 1,500 scholars,” Angeles said.
Under
the “One Town, One Scholar” program, all town scholars will each
receive a scholarship grant for a four-year or five-year college degree
program, including free tuition, transportation and living allowances,
not exceeding P15,000 per semester for SY 2009-2010 and every year
thereafter. The scholar, however, must pass the state college or
university’s entrance examinations.
As conceived, Town Scholars
must (a) be a natural born Filipino citizen residing in the
municipality; (b) be a graduating student of a public high school in
the municipality; (c) belong to the top 10 of the graduating class of
their public school; (d) come from a family whose combined gross annual
income is below P300,000; and (e) have good moral character and good
health.
Interested applicants have to submit their letters of
application to their respective schools, subject to the screening and
selection process agreed upon by the municipal government and DepEd,
aside from the program’s minimum requirements.
Period for
application, screening and selection of grantees at the municipal town
level is from March 1 to April 15, 2009, after which the town mayor
will endorse to the CHED Regional Office (CHEDRO) the selected scholar.
CHED will validate the grantee’s records prior to the final issuance of
Scholarship Certificate.
A town scholar should maintain an
average grade of at least 2.0 or its equivalent in all subjects, and
must not incur a grade lower than 2.75 or its equivalent in any
subject, to be retained in the program.
After graduating, the
Town Scholar shall render a return service of one year with pay for
every year of study grant within the country. His or her municipality
shall have priority claim for his/her service.
President Arroyo
first discussed the idea of her “One Town, One Scholar” program for
poor public high school students during the LMP general assembly in
November 2007.
At the 2008 LMP general assembly last November,
the President directed the PMS to convene the CHED, DepEd and DBM to
flesh out and implement the program this year.
Ramil
www.chedcaraga. com
Scholarship guidelines -> http://www.scribd. com/doc/13594070 /CMO4s2009OneTow nOneScholar
new timeline
March 31 – April 29, 2009
Application, selection and screening of grantees in public high schools/municipal/ town level
April 30, 2009
Submission by municipalities of final list of scholars to CHED Caraga, NORMISIST Campus, Ampayon, Butuan City
May 4 - 29, 2009
CHED Caraga validation of qualifications of grantees and preparation of final list of Town Scholars for issuance of scholarship certificates
