6,000 poor students qualify for CHEd’s financial program

MANILA, Philippines - A total of 6,264 graduating high school students from poor families qualified for the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd)’s Student Financial Assistance Program (StuFAP) this school year.

The commission said yesterday it has allocated more than P695.7 million for the StuFAP for school year 2013-2014 and 6,264 slots will be added to the current 45,742. 

The CHEd Office of Student Services said the commission can only cater to one percent of high school graduates each year due to budget limitations.

The commission also clarified that the StuFAP is not meant to fully cover all the expenses of each student as this will stretch the budget and decrease the number of beneficiaries.

CHEd also has a Study Now Pay Later program and has allocated P5 million worth of scholarship grants to selected beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or conditional cash transfer. 

Malacañang has also allocated P20 million for scholarships for poor Muslim college students in the coming school year.

Feeding program

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has allocated P2.9 billion for its supplemental feeding program at day care centers nationwide this school year. The SFP aims to benefit over 1.7 million children.

Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman said that 1,755,034 children in 45,389 day care centers nationwide will benefit from the SFP.

The SFP provides food in addition to the regular meals of children enrolled in day care and supervised, home-based neighborhood play centers for 120 days. 

Each child aged three to four enrolled this coming school year will be given hot meals amounting to P13 per day, five times a week.  Parents will prepare the food, with the suggested menu for the day provided by nutritionists of the DSWD.

The DSWD will also coordinate with the Rural Health Unit for the regular weighing, deworming and other medical needs of children.

“This is the DSWD’s contribution to the Early Childhood Care and Development program of the government,” Soliman said.

About 161 school children in Barangay Daculang Tubig, San Fernando, Camarines Sur will benefit from the SFP sponsored by the Philippine Goodworks Mission Foundation in partnership with the DSWD and the local government unit of San Fernando.

Arnel Garcia, DSWD Region V director, turned over a check for P163,275.00 to Vienna Sibulo, school principal of Malaking Ilog Elementary School. The amount will be used in the first three months of implementation of the SFP. – With Rainier Allan Ronda