PIA Press Release
Sunday, February 13, 2011

Thousands of students benefit from Iskolar ng Bataan program

BALANGA CITY, Bataan Feb. 13 (PIA) – Recipients of the Iskolar ng Bataan program continue to increase year by year - an indication of the provincial government’s commitment to providing quality education to its constituents especially to those who cannot afford formal schooling.

According to Ramon Canas, the province’s scholarship coordinator, the provincial government, under the leadership of Governor Enrique “Tet” Garcia, has been assisting around 9,000 college students since the inception of the scholarship program in 2005. The figure scaled up to an astonishing 12,000 in 2010.

Under the program, each scholar receives P3,000 per semester, with funds coming from the provincial government with shares from Bataan second district representative Albert Garcia.

In Morong and Balanga City, Iskolar ng Bataan recipients receive P5,000 and P6,000 per semester respectively, with subsidies from the municipal government in excess of the P3,000 allotted by the provincial government.

Canas clarified that in availing for the scholarship program, applicants do not undergo examinations but they must have acquired a general average of 80% upon graduation in high school.

He added that recipients should maintain the 80% average rating throughout college in order to continue receiving the scholarship grants.

Recipients may enjoy the scholarship whether they choose to study in any public or private colleges and universities in or outside Bataan. (WLB/PIA3)