Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino beneficiaries to get scholarships

MANILA, Philippines - The Aquino government is offering college scholarships to some 4,000 beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) starting this year, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) announced yesterday.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said the qualified beneficiaries will come from 609 classified municipalities covered by the 4Ps and must not be more than 30 years old.

A maximum of P60,000 grant per school year shall be provided to each student-beneficiary to cover tuition fee, school fees, textbooks, board and lodging, health and other related educational expenses and support services to complete the degree program, the DSWD said in a statement.

The scholarship grants hope to empower deserving members of poor households, by providing them the opportunity to be employed to higher value-added occupations, to help alleviate their family from poverty and at the same time enable them to contribute to national development, the agency said.

The educational grants are being offered under the agency’s Students Grants-in-Aid Program (SGP-PA).

For the student-beneficiaries to be retained in the program, they must be able to comply with set conditions and responsibilities. The students are required to carry a full load every semester as prescribed in the curriculum and graduate within the required period of the program.

They must also maintain satisfactory academic performance in accordance with the policies and standards of the state universities and colleges where they are enrolled (SUCs).