House approves automatic scholarship for top high school grads

MANILA, Philippines - The House committees on appropriations, and higher and technical education have approved a bill granting automatic college scholarships to top 10 graduates of public high schools.

 In the proposed “Iskolar ng Bayan Program,” the top 10 graduates of every public high school shall be entitled to admission to the state-run university of his or her choice within his or her province, without having to pay for first-year tuition and other matriculation fees.

 After the first-year college scholarship under the program, the student beneficiary shall be covered by the regular financial assistance programs of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), if qualified.

 “We have very high hopes that the program will boost public access to higher education,” said Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo, chairman of the committee on higher and technical education.

 “We have to churn out a larger number of college graduates at a faster rate in the years ahead to produce a strong and vibrant middle class, and to build up the global competitiveness of our human resources as well as the national economy,” Romulo said.

Under the measure, public high schools with more than 1,000 graduates shall enjoy one additional college scholarship slot for every 500 graduates, to be granted to graduates whose ranks immediately follow the top 10.

The program is contained in House Bill 4860, principally authored by Taguig City Rep. Lino Cayetano and Romulo.

Meanwhile, Romulo said a total of P43.3 billion in subsidy has been earmarked for the country’s 112 state universities and colleges (SUCs) in 2015 — an increase of 13.8 percent over their 2014 allocation.

He said the fresh funding is provided for in the proposed P2.606 trillion General Appropriations Act for 2015.

The new appropriation includes P3.5 billion for scholarships lodged with SUCs, which is on top of the P2.2 billion available to the CHED for student financial aid, Romulo said.