DOST scholarships for poor students

By Ana-Liza S. Macatangay NAGA CITY --- Poor and talented students can now avail themselves of scholarship being offered by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for incoming first year high school students and college freshmen as well as college juniors enrolled in “science and technology (S & T) priority courses.” The DOST scholarship seeks to produce graduates that will pursue its vision of creating professionals who will “direct, lead and coordinate the country’s scientific and technological efforts geared towards maximum economic and social benefits for the people.” To qualify, an incoming first year college student should be a natural born Filipino citizen, talented and poor who belongs to a family whose socio-economic status does not exceed the set values of certain indicators. He or she should also be a member of the top 5 percent of the Non-STEM strand, senior high school graduating class or member of the STEM strand, senior HS graduating class, resident of the municipality for the last four years, of good moral character and in good health and qualifier of the 2018 S & T scholarship examination. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Program, formerly Engineering and Science Education Program. It is a science and mathematics-oriented curriculum devised for high schools in the Philippines. Submit applications not later than Aug. 25, 2017. Applicants who are incoming third year college students in an identified priority S&T course for school year (SY) 2017-2018 should be regular Filipino citizens, have a general weighted average of at least 83 percent or its equivalent in his/her first and second years in college, resident of the municipality for the last four years, of good moral character and in good health and qualifier of the 2017 Junior Level Science Scholarships Examination. Deadline for filing is Sept. 22, 2017. Forms may be downloaded at www.dost.sei.gov.ph. Incoming first year high school students who are willing to study in the Philippine Science High School should submit two copies of the fully accomplished application form, two 1x1 ID pictures, non-refundable test fee of P100 if the student is from a private school, and certified true copy of report card for SY 2016-2017. If the final grade in science or math or both is below 85, the applicant must submit a certification or proof that the child belongs to the upper 10 percent of the batch. File applications for PSHS not later than Sept. 1, 2017.Forms may be downloaded from www.pshs.edu.ph. The scholarship offerings are in consonance with RA 7687 or the Science and Technology Scholarship Act of 1994, which provides scholarships to talented and deserving students whose families’ socio-economic status do not exceed the set cut-off values of certain indicators. Successful applicants should pursue priority fields of study in the basic sciences, engineering, other applied sciences, and science and mathematics teaching.