Getting ready for college: What are the scholarship programs being offered by CHED

As the School Year 2023-2024 ends, students prepare for the start of the next academic year.

In this series, GMA News Online will explore the subsidies made available by the government both in the basic and higher education systems, and how underprivileged students can avail them.

FIRST PART: Moving up to senior high: How to avail education subsidy voucher from DepEd

SECOND PART: From public to private school: How incoming Grade 7 learners can become ESC grantees

THIRD OF THREE PARTS

Entering college is a thrilling yet daunting experience—parting ways with your high school friends, figuring out the right academic program, and fitting into a new world where bigger responsibilities will unfold. 

And not only is college more academically challenging, it is also heavier on the pocket with students who live far from universities having to also note transportation, food, and accommodation expenses on top of paying tuition and other school fees, and buying books and other school supplies. 

Good thing, the Commission in Higher Education (CHED) has scholarship programs available for those who are seeking financial support to finish their tertiary education.

CHED chairperson Prospero "Popoy" de Vera III said that nearly 700,000 Filipino students are currently being assisted by the government through various forms of subsidies, aside from the Free Higher Education in state and local universities and colleges. 

“That is a tremendous increase from the previous years. I am hoping that the President will include this in the State of the Nation Address because it is under this administration where there is a dramatic increase in the number of scholarships and stipends the students are getting,” De Vera said. 

Here are the scholarship programs available for college students next SY: 

Merit Scholarship Program

For academically talented students, CHED’s merit scholarship program (CMSP) is open for Grade 12 graduates or graduating students who have a general weighted average (GWA) of at least 93% or above. 

Priority for this program are underprivileged and homeless people, persons with disability (PWD), and solo parents and/or their dependents. 

For School Year 2024-2025, a total of 1,374 slots are up for grabs under CMSP for incoming freshmen who want to pursue their undergraduate studies in any CHED recognized priority programs in either private higher education institutions (HEIs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), or local universities and colleges (LUCs).

These 1,374 slots are equitably distributed among all the CHED regional offices across the country. 

Under the CMSP, qualified Filipino students will be awarded a full or partial scholarship, which covers tuition and other school fees, book and connectivity allowance, and stipend for living expenses until the completion of their degree program.

Applicants that fulfill the GWA requirement of at least 96% for full scholarship, or 93% to 95% for half scholarship, shall be ranked and selected based on CHED’s criteria and the availability of slots or funds. 

Submission of online applications for the CMSP will be until July 15, 2024 only. 

Tertiary Education Subsidy 

The Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) is a grant-in aid program that supports the full or partial cost of tertiary education of Filipino undergraduate students enrolled in private HEIs, SUCs, or LUCs. 

Unlike the CMSP, TES is not a scholarship based on merit but on a prioritization system set by the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education Act (UniFAST) Board, according to Republic Act No. 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.

UniFAST is an attached agency of CHED that implements the major components of this measure. 

Based on RA 10931, the prioritization for TES shall be given to students in the following order:

• Students who are part of households included in the Listahanan 2.0, ranked according to the estimated per capita household income; and 
• Students not part of the Listahanan 2.0, ranked according to estimated per capita household income based on submitted documentation of proof of income to be determined by the UniFAST Board

It also stated that the prioritization shall not apply to Filipino students in cities and municipalities with no existing SUC or LUC campus.

For SY 2024-2025, UniFAST has not yet opened the TES application, pending the availability of funds or slots for new grantees. 

Coconut and sugarcane workers

For coconut farmers and their families, CHED also has an available scholarship program under CoScho, which aims to raise their social equity and alleviate poverty through the provision of quality education.

According to CHED, this program is also seen to improve agricultural productivity and modernization in the Philippines’ coconut industry by raising the knowledge of coconut farmers and/or their dependents on scientific advances in agricultural technology and other related fields, as well as motivate the younger generation to be engaged in the agriculture sector.

Undergraduate students who are coconut farmers or dependents of coconut farmers duly registered under the National Coconut Farmers Registry System could apply for CoScho.

They must specifically enroll or are currently enrolled in agriculture, agricultural engineering, agribusiness management, agricultural economics, or other courses identified by the Philippine Coconut Authority.

De Vera said they have to encourage more students to go into agriculture as it is the “lifeblood of many areas of the country” and because there is a need to replenish the number of people going into agriculture as current farmers are getting older. 

“The median age of our farmers is relatively old and so this new generation or this younger generation, we have to encourage them to go into agriculture,” he said. 

“When we say agriculture, hindi ‘yan ‘yung [that’s not] farming. It's not farming. It includes agribusiness, it includes nutrition. So it's agriculture and agri-related programs, when we say we provide scholarships for agriculture students,” he added.

What interested applicants should also take note of is that CoScho requires a year of return service in the Philippines per year of scholarship, within two years after their graduation. 

They should prioritize working either in government agencies directly working with the coconut industry; other government agencies; or other private entities related to the Philippine coconut industry.

Aside from this, CHED also has an available scholarship for children and dependents of sugarcane industry workers and small sugarcane farmers duly certified by the Sugar Regulatory Administration.

This program covers both undergraduate and graduate students who are qualified to enroll in agriculture, agricultural engineering and mechanics, chemical engineering, and sugar technology as identified in RA No. 10659 or the Sugarcane Industry Development Act of 2015. 

Like for coconut farmers and their dependents, this scholarship for sugarcane workers requires one year return service per year of scholarship in the Philippines, within two years after graduation.

Estatistikolar

Meanwhile, for those pursuing a degree in statistics, CHED also has a scholarship program for future statisticians called ESTATISTIKOLAR. 

This government-funded program, which is open to qualified Filipino incoming fourth year students pursuing Bachelor of Science in Statistics or Bachelor of Science in Applied Statistics in recognized private HEIs, SUCs, and LUCs, primarily seeks to address the lack of statisticians in the Philippines. 

The graduating college students must thus have a GWA of at least 80% or its equivalent.

Priority for this scholarship are also underprivileged and homeless citizens, PWDs, solo parents and/or their dependents, senior citizens, and indigenous peoples. 

Estatistikolar will cover tuition and other school fees, stipends, and book or connectivity allowance. 

Tulong Dunong

Another program under the UniFAST is the Tulong Dunong which offers subsidies to support at least the partial cost of tertiary education, including education-related expenses, of the qualified students enrolled in private HEIs, SUCs, and LUCs. 

Beneficiaries of this program will receive P7,500 per semester or P15,000 per academic year. 

They should also be coming from a family with less than P400,000 combined household gross income, and should not be overstaying in the program. 

According to De Vera, the Congress approved an additional P2 billion worth of subsidies for SY 2024-2025 under the 2024 national budget, which resulted in the Tulong Dunong program accepting more applicants. 

Aside from submitting applications to CHED offices, he said that students could also make use of the services available during the Bagong Pilipinas Fair and the Lab For All project of the government which are being conducted in every province. 

“This is what is new—not only the increase in the number of slots, but also that the students can apply directly to the Commission when we go around the country,” De Vera said. 

“It's a significant number compared to before. So palagay ko ngayong 2024-2025, hindi tayo masyado magkakaroon ng problema in our desire to help students,” he continued. 

(I think this 2024-2025, we won't be having too many problems in helping students.)

Both the CHED and UniFAST are advising the public to be cautious against unofficial websites and social media pages posting links or forms regarding supposed scholarship or subsidy programs.—AOL, GMA Integrated News