Iskolar ng Bayan gets P382 M

MANILA, Philippines - The Iskolar ng Bayan scholarship program is getting P382.2 million in funding next year, Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo, who chairs the House committee on higher education, said Monday.

“Despite the K to 12 switch, some public high schools will produce graduates in 2016 from pilot projects. Their top 10 academic performers will be entitled to scholarships under the Iskolar ng Bayan program,” Romulo said.

The Iskolar ng Bayan Act of 2014, which Romulo authored, guarantees the top 10 graduates of every public high school with scholarships in the country’s 112 state universities and colleges (SUCs).

Every Iskolar ng Bayan qualifier is entitled to admission to the SUC of his/her choice within his/her region, without having to pay for first-year tuition and miscellaneous fees, he added.

The scholar will be covered by financial aid from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), if qualified, after the first year.

Romulo said the funding for the Iskolar ng Bayan program is part of the P10.53-billion budget for the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for next year. “The CHED will distribute the money to the SUCs where the Iskolar ng Bayan qualifiers are enrolled.”

Romulo has championed public access to higher education, which he said has “become absolutely imperative to fight poverty, grow our middle class families and build up the country’s human capital formation.”

Besides the Iskolar ng Bayan Act, the Pasig lawmaker also authored the Open Distance Learning Law, which enables overseas Filipino workers who are high school graduates or college undergraduates, working students and even persons with disabilities, to acquire higher education via remote learning facilities.

He sponsored the proposed Unified Financial Assistance System for Higher and Technical Education (UniFAST), which simplifies and quickens the delivery of public-funded scholarships, grants-in-aid and low-cost loans to qualified students.

The UniFAST bill will become law once signed by President Aquino.