THE TULONG Dunong Program (TDP), a collaboration between the city government and the Commission on Higher Education (Ched), has benefited 9,691 students for the Academic Year 2019-2020.
Commissioner Norman Baloro, program focal person, said the number of grantees was from 11,402 applicants.
Under the TDP, a four-year scholarship program, college students are provided P7,500 a semester in stipend.
To qualify, college students must not have availed of any other scholarship, enrolled with Ched-accredited institutions and must be children of parents whose annual income does not exceed P400,000.
The scholarship was implemented to help students complete their college education amid the impact of the pandemic.
The program has paid the two semesters of the beneficiaries as P145.365 million in funding was released.
Airine Davis, a fourth-year BSBA in Human Resource Management student from the University of Mindanao (UM), was lucky enough to qualify for the scholarship.
Davis, the sixth in the brood of seven, has supported herself by working multiple jobs, but the lockdown imposed during the height of the pandemic has led establishments where she was working to either close down or implement retrenchments.
She said she feared that she would eventually lose the source of her meager income. “Dili man gud nato matagna basin mag lala pa ang sitwasyon sa Covid. Basin mag close among company ug mawad an mi og trabaho mga empleyado,” she said.
Fortunately, she said, she was among those lucky enough to retain some of the jobs.
Also, she was thankful enough both to the city government and the Ched for coming up with the program.
“Isip isa ka beneficiary sa TDP, mapasalamaton ko tungod dako kaayo ning tabang namong mga nag porsige aron makahuman sa pag-skwela. Labi na karong online na ang klase, mas lisod na ang pag eskwela ug kinahanglan pud ang internet. Dili parehas sauna nga pamasahe ug pagkaon lang ang gastosan,” she said.
“Dako kog pasalamat sa CHED, sa atong Mayor Inday Sara Duterte, kay Comm. Norman Baloro, ug sa mga staff wala nga wala nagkulang sa pag pa himangno sa tama nga pag comply sa mga requirements,” Davis added.
