Would-be scholars to get P20,000 monthly stipend

Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph G. Recto is urging the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to extend the deadline for the application to the scholarship program that would provide thousands of K to 12 displaced teachers a monthly stipend of at least P20,000 for the duration of their schooling.

“April 1 was the deadline of the application for this scholarship, which is mainly for private college teachers who would otherwise face low or loss of income during the K to 12 transition period,” Recto said.

College enrolment will go down this June as Grade 10 students are retained in schools for two more years of senior high school, prompting government to package a multi-billion-peso bridge financing program for affected personnel.

CHED, in its website, issued a last call for applicants for the “Graduate Education Scholarships for Faculty and Staff Development in the K to 12 Transition Period,” with the deadline set on April 1.

In his appeal, Recto asked for the deadline to be extended by a “mere 15 days,” to April 15, to give more time to teachers who were busy with final tests to collate the required supporting documents.

The scholarships and other K to 12 transition programs in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are funded by a P5.27 billion allocation authorized in the 2016 national budget.

Of this amount, P3 billion will be sourced from travel tax collections and state lotto earnings, pooled under the off-budget Higher Education Development Fund, while P2.275 billion is appropriated in the CHED budget for the provision of scholarship to faculty members and HEI administrators.

Under the program, full scholarships for master’s and doctoral degrees are being offered to faculty and staff during the transition period.

In addition, scholarships for master’s and doctoral programs in selected foreign schools select are also offered. Grants for thesis and dissertation writing, professional advancement, and post-doctoral fellowships are also available.

Faculty scholars who qualify under the scholarship will be receiving a package consisting of tuition and fees; monthly stipend; book allowance; transportation allowance; thesis and dissertation allowance; and group insurance.

According to the guidelines, the stipend for those who qualify for scholarships for the master’s degree is P20,000 per month, while successful applicants for the doctoral program will receive a monthly allowance of P28,000.

There is also a thesis or dissertation allowance for master’s and doctoral programs in the amount of P50,000 and P100,000, respectively. For those studying outside their province, a transportation allowance of P10,000 a year will be given.

Recto said the scholarship program has two primary goals according to its guidelines issued by CHED in January 12 of this year: mitigate impact on labor of the K to 12 program and to upgrade qualifications of faculty.

“If these are the objectives, then we should accommodate as many applicants as we can,” Recto said.

As the K to 12 program enters the senior high school phase this year, the Department of Education (DepEd) estimates around 1.21 million Grade 10 students will remain in school for two more years, “which effectively drains the source of college enrolment,” Recto said.

The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) had projected that 33,000 college instructors may be potentially idled until 2018. Another group, a coalition of education workers, pegged the number at 86,000 college teachers plus 15,000 non-academic personnel.

A DepED briefing paper sent to Congress in 2014 had pegged a lower number of 13,634 teachers, or 12 percent of all college teachers, and 11,456 non-teaching staff, or 20 percent of the total.