Capitol to roll out scholarships in Sept.

MAGPALE

ABOUT 70 handicapped, abused, marginalized and children of dysfunctional families will soon be included in a college scholarship program to be sponsored by the Cebu provincial government.

Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said her office convened the committee which will be conducting the screening of the beneficiaries of the recently approved Paglaum Scholarship Program of the province.

“There are already a lot of applicants. But we still need to formulate guidelines. So we met with the committee to evaluate. The HR (Human Resource Office) will be involved because the applicants will also go through a psychological test,” Magpale told reporters yesterday.

During their regular session last Monday, the Provincial Board (PB) approved Magpale’s proposed ordinance establishing the Paglaum Scholarship Program of the province and setting aside a P1 million budget for it for the remainder of the year.

Magpale said they are targeting 10 scholars from each of the province’s seven districts.

She said interested applicants may coordinate with their respective municipal or city governments, or with the PB members representing their districts, or even directly with the vice governor’s office at the Capitol.

The successful applicants will be decided by September, in time for enrollment for the coming second semester.

Unlike the usual scholarships, the scholars of this program won’t need to maintain a high grade.

The ordinance states that they only need to have at least a passing grade of 75 percent.

It is open to students between 16 to 30 years old who are victims of rape, human trafficking, drug abuse, child abuse, or children from dysfunctional families, solo parents, drug dependents, deceased parents, marginalized sectors, differently abled, and the less fortunate.

Each scholar is entitled to a P10,000 tuition per semester in any state university or college of her choice.

They may also opt for technical or vocational courses. They will also receive a P1,500 subsistence allowance per month.

“Next year, hopefully we will get a P10 million budget so that we can have more scholars. I’ve already talked with Governor Davide about this,” Magpale said.

She said the Paglaum Screening Committee will be meeting with the scholars every month to assess and monitor their progress in school.

The committee has it’s own in-house social worker and psychologist. It will be headed by the governor, with the vice governor as vice chairperson.

Other members include the consultant on barangay affairs, a representative of the Provincial Women’s Commission (PWC), the provincial health officer, provincial treasurer, provincial budget officer, provincial accountant and the Public Employment Service Officer.