The government will spend about P50 million for a three-year scholarship program for high school students in Mindanao.
Ester Ogena, director of the Department of Science and Technology’s Science Education Institute, said the program dubbed “Mindanao Opportunities for Vitalizing Education and Upgrading of Science” or MOVE UP, aims to provide “leveling opportunity” to Mindanao youth.
“A lot of studies showed the correlation between socio-economic deprivation and the low interest in science among Muslim youth,” Ogena said.
Republic Act 7687, or the Science and Technology Scholarship Act of 1994, mandates the government’s scholarship program that reaches out to poor, talented and deserving students desiring to pursue a degree or training in science and technology.
Ogena said the project, which would start in the fourth quarter of this year, would provide 90 scholarship slots to incoming high school students.
“We will spend P16 million for the first year of implementation, P20 to P25 million for the second year, close to P50 million for three years,” she said.
Ogena said a youth camp is scheduled in October at the Philippine Science High School-Davao campus to gather Muslim elementary students.
“The activity aims to drum up interest among Muslim youth so that they would take scholarship exam for high school,” Ogena said.
SEI is the DOST agency mandated to develop a critical mass of competitive S&T workers and professionals.
The agency is also offering graduate scholarships under its Accelerated Science and Technology Human Resource Development Program.