BY GIO TANUDTANUD
A DEPARTMENT of Social Welfare and Development official urged 4Ps recipients to avail of the college scholarship offered by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
During the Kapihan sa Dabaw at SM City on Jan. 22, Margie G. Cabido, DSWD XI Pantawid Pamilya Management division chief, said the CHED has a Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary (UniFAST) program that helps fund the college education of students from poor families.
The tertiary education assistance under the program also supports TVET courses apart from baccalaureate degrees and graduate studies.
According to their data, Cabido said 47,165 households with incoming college students are eligible to apply for the scholarship.
Dr. Louie Juera, CHED XI UniFAST supervisor, said among their programs, the free higher education remains the most significant because it allows poor students to enter state universities so long as they meet the requirements.
“But the caveat there is that they have to be enrolled subject to the admission requirements of that certain university,” he said.
Republic Act No. 10687, which created the UniFAST, was signed last October 15, 2015
Cabido said they are working with CHED to cascade the information to the 4Ps families in Davao Region so that they are aware of the opportunities available to them.
“Aside from our mga exposures to the media, we are also coordinating with the different radio stations and the local radio stations,” she said.
4Ps children exit the program once they graduate high school. The UniFAST serves as a bridge for the poor students to continue their education.
