Young to update schools with changes in city scholarship

CEBU, Philippines – Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young will be meeting with public and private schools in the city to orient them on updates and procedures governing the city's scholarship grants.

Young learned that some schools remain unacquainted of the process, including CIT University where former city councilor Arsenio Pacaña, the city's education consultant, works as dean of the College of Education.

The city has granted P10,000 each to 5,297 scholars studying in different private and state-owned schools here. There are 271 freshmen students in CIT alone.

"Ato sila nga pahibawon sa procedures aron walay maglibog ug walay magbagolbol," Young said.

One major development the schools must know, Young said, is that utilization of the P10,000 grant is no longer exclusive during the first semester unlike what the previous City Council proposed and what former mayor Tomas Osmeña approved before the start of classes last June.

After amendment, the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the scholarship program now provides that scholars can still use in the second semester whatever was left of the P10,000 granted to them during the first semester.

Students who graduated from public and secondary schools in the city last March can avail of the P10,000 scholarship grant. An additional P10,000 in the form of transportation allowance will be given to students residing in mountain barangays at P1,000 every month.

There are 20 public and private schools and universities in the city that have entered into an agreement with the city for the scholarship, including University of Cebu with 1,351 beneficiaries; Asian College of Technology with 1,728 students; Cebu Technological University with 904 students; Cebu Normal University with 271 students; Technical Education and Skills Development Authority with 216 students, and some other private and state-owned schools.

The P10,000 scholarship grant shall be used to defray school expenses such as tuition and miscellaneous fees, books, uniforms, tools and other fees that the student may need to pay for while enrolled in the school.

Those students who enjoy academic scholarships given by the schools may still utilize the balance from the P10,000 grant from the city as allowance of not more than P1,000 per month. (FREEMAN)