DOST offers scholarships to 3,500 HS graduates

The Science Education Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is offering scholarships to some 3,500 high school graduates nationwide for the first semester of the year in a bid to develop highly trained S&T professionals.

A total of 21,452 senior students will take the qualifying examinations on Sunday. The number is 25 percent higher than last year’s 17,118 examinees, according to SEI director Dr. Ester Ogena.

Out of last year’s examinees, only 2,510 students qualified and 2,188 of them availed themselves of the scholarship, she said.

“Theoretically, we expect about 3,500 students to pass this year in the entire country,” she said.

The students will take the exams in 115 testing centers all over the country.

Ogena said the examinees come from the upper five percent of the entire graduating class of their respective schools and intend to pursue science-related or science-teaching degrees in college.

“We have identified several priority courses under Republic Act 7687 which is our scholarship for the poor,” she said.

The degrees the scholarship qualifiers could take are agricultural chemistry, biochemistry, biology, chemical engineering, chemistry, chemistry teaching, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, electronics and communications engineering, food technology, industrial engineering, information technology, materials engineering, mathematics, mathematics teaching, mechanical engineering, molecular biology and biotechnology, physics, physics teaching, and statistics.

Ogena said the scholars will enjoy tuition and other school fees of up to P6,000 per semester; book allowance of P3,000 per academic year; Physical Education or National Service Training Program uniform allowance of P500; free economy-class roundtrip fare for those studying outside their home province; monthly living allowance of P4,000 for those pursuing physics and physics teaching courses, and P3,000 for those in other DOST-SEI priority courses; group health and accident insurance; and post-graduation clothing allowance.

Ogena said the scholars are required to take up summer classes, thus getting a monthly living allowance, tuition and other school fees not to exceed P1,500 and book allowance not to exceed P500.

After graduation, the scholars, according to Ogena, are bound to serve in the country – but not necessarily in the government – corresponding to the number of years they enjoyed the scholarship.

Ogena said the graduating scholars could also avail themselves of scholarships for graduate studies.

“President Arroyo has recognized the need for us to produce MS and PhD graduates which is the reason she is supporting this accelerated program that would create a pool of scientists for research and development,” she said.

To date, the DOST has produced 10,000 graduates since 1994 with the enactment of RA 7687 or the Science and Technology Scholarship Program, Ogena said.

The department has been giving scholarships to students since 1959 or a year after the National Science Development Board, the precursor of the DOST, was created.

“We started with only 10 slots then. Then it grew to 150 to 270. When the law (RA 7687) was created, DOST was given the mandate to offer scholarships to a wider populace,” Ogena said.  – Helen Flores