GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 5 December) — Three education graduates that were recipients of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s student assistance program for poor students in Region 12 have landed in the top 10 of the September 2017 Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET).
Bai Zorahayda Taha, DSWD Region 12 director, said the three LET topnotchers were among the beneficiaries in the region of the agency’s Expanded Student’s Grant-in-Aid Program (ESGPPA).
They are Jurisken Cedeno of Pikit, North Cotabato and Jepold Leo Deasmin of Matalam, North Cotabato, who both landed on 10th place in the secondary level with a rating of 91 percent; and, Anielyn Ladica of Alabel, Sarangani who also placed 10th in the elementary level with a rating of 86.40 percent.
Cedeno and Deasmin graduated with Bachelor of Secondary Education degrees majoring in Math at the University of Southern Mindanao in Kabacan, North Cotabato and Cotabato Foundation College of Science and Technology, respectively.
Ladica graduated with Bachelor in Elementary Education degree majoring in English at the Mindanao State University here.
“This only shows that our pro-poor program is working for the people,” Taha said in a statement.
DSWD-ESGPPA is currently supporting a total of 1,917 scholars enrolled in various state-run colleges and universities in Region 12.
The region comprises the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and North Cotabato, and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.
Meriam Damang, DSWD-12 ESGPPA coordinator, said the scholars are all dependents of families covered by the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps in the region.
Under the program, she said student-grantees receive a maximum of P60,000 in scholarship grants per school year or P30,000 every semester.
She said the annual grant covers P20,000 for tuition; P5,000 per year for the textbooks and other learning materials; and, P35,000 or P3,500 a month for the stipend or allowance covering 10 months.
Juliet Clavel, DSWD-12’s 4Ps regional coordinator, said each grantee may choose to enrol in programs that were identified as priorities by the Commission on Higher Education.
“These are courses related to information technology, agriculture, education, science and math, engineering, and health sciences,” Clavel said.
She said the initiative is also in support of the national government’s efforts to increase enrollments in various priority degree programs. (MindaNews)