Tolentino seeks scholarship grants for public school teachers and their children

Public school teachers and their children can avail themselves of scholarship grants in case Senate Bill (SB) No. 399 is enacted into law.

Filed by Senator Francis Tolentino, SB 399 will provide public school teachers with scholarship grants to obtain masters, doctorate or post-graduate education related to the subjects or courses they are teaching.

Under the proposed bill, the scholarship grants can be availed of in educational institutions operated by the Philippine government or its political subdivisions.

Tolentino said the proposed bill will entice more teachers to render their services in the public school system.

“In turn, more teachers would educate our growing number of public school students, enabling better quality of education to Filipinos and consequently resulting to more productive members of society,” said Tolentino in his bill.

Citing data from the National Center for Education Statistics, Tolentino said there were about 3.3 million full-time and part-time public school teachers for School Year 2017-2018, with 205,600 of them public charter school teachers.

Meanwhile, under the bill, children of eligible public school teachers will automatically be given scholarship grants covering their elementary, secondary, and tertiary education.

Tolentino said SB 399 is in line with the policy of the State to give priority to education, science and technology, arts, culture, and sports "to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress, and promote total human liberation and development." —Mel Matthew Doctor/KG, GMA News