500 Davao Students Benefit From Scholarship Grant

Lawyer Karlo Nograles, son and chief of staff of House Speaker Prospero Nograles distributes scholarship vouchers to some 500 mostly high students during a simple ceremony Davao City. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Romy Bwaga)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 14, 2008) – Hundreds of high school students in Davao City benefited from a scholarship grant extended by House Speaker Prospero Norgrales and the Department of Education.

The students, who were mostly from poor families came from 23 different schools and had been granted each some P5,000 scholarship assistance, said lawyer Karlo Nograles, the son and chief of staff of Rep. Nograles.

He said the financial grant is given to poor students who graduated from public elementary schools and are currently enrolled in private high schools. The grant was given to the students in a ceremony in Barangay 35-D.

The younger Nograles said the program is being implemented nationwide by the Department of Education in order to assist parents in coping with the financial demands of transferring their children to private schools.

”Not all parents can afford to bring their children to a private school, but for those who have barely enough to transfer their child to a private high school, this is one way that government can help,” Nograles said.

Under the program, each city and province is allocated a number of scholarship vouchers. But only recently, the vouchers for Davao City had increased. "Originally, only 50 scholarship slots were made available for the entire Davao City but due to the effort of Speaker Nograles, the Department of Education added 500 more scholarship vouchers for students of the First District of Davao," the lawyer said.

To qualify for the scholarship voucher, the student's family monthly income must not exceed P17,000 a month. "Once a student qualifies under the program, the financial assistance will be used to pay for his yearly tuition every school year until he finishes high school, provided they do not receive any failing grades," the young lawyer said.

He explained that education is one of the main thrusts of his father since the speaker believes having a good education offers a better future for students.
Out of the 500 slots, 350 were given in the First District and rest in the Second and Third Districts.

Liza Capuyan, a mother of two high school students who received the scholarship assistance, expressed gratitude to the lawmaker for the initiative. “The financial assistance will greatly help in the education of my children, especially nowadays, where everything is expensive,” she said.

Rep. Nograles has been in the past advocating for a comprehensive education program in Davao City. His scholarship grant starts from high school to college and even in post-graduate courses.

”Aside from the high school scholarship grants, the Speaker through his Oplan Kaalam program, also offers scholarship grants for college, vocational, and even masteral courses. Those who wish to avail of our scholarship grants need only to visit our office along Quirino Avenue in Davao City or coordinate with our barangay leaders,” the young Norgrales said. (Romy Bwaga)