CHED: 52,006 scholarship slots available in school year 2013-2014

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) offers financial assistance to college students through its Student Financial Assistance Program (StuFAP). However, CHED can only provide assistance to one percent, instead of the targeted five percent, of graduating poor high school students—only 52,006 slots available for half and full merit scholarships for school year 2013-2014. The problem? Budget constraints. “We are proposing to increase the ceiling for the budget,” CHED study grant division head Nena Asingjo told GMA News Online in a phone interview on Tuesday. Asingjo said that the commission's number of slots for StuFAP depends on a budget ceiling mandated by the Department of Budget and Management, while the Department of Education and the National Economic and Development Authority determine which students are eligible for the StuFAPs. Mandate In line with Article XIV of the Philippine Constitution, CHED aims to protect the rights of citizens by making quality education accessible to all through the maintenance of scholarships, grant-in-aids and loan programs. These programs provide scholarships to poor high schoolers and children of military and rebel returnees, among others. Recipients will receive P15,000 for a half scholarship and P30,000 for a full scholarship per academic year, whether they attend a public or a private institute of higher education. Asingjo reiterated that the StuFAP is not meant to fully cover all the expenses of each student, as this would stretch the budget and decrease the number of beneficiaries. But, she added, the amount CHED provides is not insufficient, since the amount provided by the half and full merit scholarships could easily pay for a big chunk of the beneficiary's tuition fee. She added that it is up to the beneficiary to choose the school they want to study at, and the financial assistance that CHED provides is there to support whatever the beneficiary's family can afford. — BM, GMA News