A good news for all topnotchers in various public high schools nationwide, the national government declared that all Top 10 Public High School graduates will be granted scholarships in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) under a law signed by President Benigno Simeon Aquino III.
By virtue of Republic Act (RA) No. 10648, the Iskolar ng Bayan Act of 20114, all topnotch graduates in public high school particularly those who are included in the Top 10 of their class will enjoy a one-year scholarship in State College or University of their choice subject to the schools’ admission rules.
“It is the declared policy of the State to protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality and accessible education at all levels and to establish and maintain a financial assistance system that shall be available to deserving students, especially the underprivileged,” the law provides..
“For this purpose, the government shall democratize access to higher education by institutionalizing a college scholarship program to be named the ‘Iskolar ng Bayan Program’ for top graduates of public high schools in the country, subject to the academic standards, application and admission policies, and such other reasonable rules and regulations of state colleges and universities,” it added.
Under RA 10648 (Iskolar ng Bayan Act of 2014), the scholarship grant covers the full amount of tuition and other school fees for the first year of college. After the first year, the student beneficiary shall be covered by the regular student financial assistance and scholarship programs of the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) if they qualify.
The newly signed law, directs the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to conduct a review of the number of graduating public high school students in each province to ensure that SUCs there have the capacity to absorb the Iskolar ng Bayan.
The law also states that the funding for the scholarship grants will be sourced from the budget of CHED or the concerned SUCs in the national budget.