Minister Aida Silongan of the Ministry of Science and Technology - Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. (File photo courtesy of BIO-BARMM)
COTABATO CITY – A total of 376 incoming freshmen college students across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are expected to benefit from the Ministry of Science and Technology’s (MOST) second batch of Bangsamoro Assistance for Science Education (BASE) scholarship program for School Year 2021-2022.
Each scholar will be granted a monthly cash allowance of PHP8,000, MOST-BARMM Minister Aida Silongan, an engineer by profession and concurrent member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, said Friday.
“The BASE program aims to stimulate and entice talented Bangsamoro youths to pursue lifetime productive careers in science and technology,” Silongan said.
She said the program seeks to ensure a steady, adequate supply of qualified science and technology human resources to help the country in the future.
Silongan said applicants should pass the general qualification that includes being a natural-born Filipino citizen and a resident of BARMM; a general average of 85 percent; good moral character; and good health.
“One should also be included in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) strand senior high school graduating class,” she said, adding that for those in the non-STEM strand, one should belong to the top 5 percent of his or her class.
Silongan said less-privileged but deserving students who belong to a family whose annual income does not exceed PHP250,000 would also be accepted in the scholarship program.
Applicants should not be recipients of other scholarship programs, do not have any post-secondary or undergraduate units, pass the BASE program examination, and pursue a bachelor of science degree in any state university, college, or private higher education institution recognized by the Commission on Higher Education.
She enjoined interested applicants to visit the MOST-BARMM office inside the region’s government center here or submit their applications online.
“We encourage online applications due to existing health protocols brought about by the pandemic,” she said as she called for scholarship applicants from the BARMM provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi, and 63 villages in North Cotabato.
The deadline for submission is on June 2, 2021, while the date of the qualifying exam is on June 21-25.
On July 1 last year, Silongan led the launch of MOST’s BASE to accept 126 scholars across the region. (PNA)
