639 Muslim students to get college grants

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 639 Muslim high school graduates to be named by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will receive a tuition grant of P10,000 every year until they graduate from college.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) raised the number of scholarships to 639 from the original 500 for the Sajahatra Bangsamoro Study Grant Program (SBGP).

The SGBP is part of the overall aid promised by the national government when it signed the Bangsamoro peace framework with the MILF on October 15 last year.

The program started this school year.

Under the guidelines, the CHEd set the maximum amount a scholar may receive at P5,000 per semester or P10,000 a year.

The scholars are to be identified and endorsed by the MILF through Task Force on Bangsamoro Development in coordination with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

The government has allocated P25.56 million from the Higher Education Development Fund (HEDF) for the purpose.

The beneficiaries must be high school graduates with limited opportunity to enter college. They should take up identified priority courses in state colleges and universities.

Beneficiaries must carry a full load, pass all subjects and complete the course on time.