A BIG HELP. Pangasinan State University-Lingayen Campus distributed stipends for some 31 Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) grantees as everyone copes with the CoVID-19 crisis with its effects like the online classes.
Mary Grace dela Cruz, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration student, said, “Malaking tulong po ito sa online classes namin, lalo na po at mahirap ang makakonek gamit ang data at cellphone.”
She shared how she is having a hard time on attending her virtual classes using cellphone and data connectivity, spending almost 100 pesos a week.
“Honestly po, iyong cellphone din po na gamit ko ngayon ay nabili ko po dahil sa TES grant,” the third-year student added.
Dela Cruz who is also a member of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is a consistent TES grantee from first year.
“Very thankful kasi malaking tulong hindi lang sa akin, pati sa family ko. Kaya malaking salamat ko po sa gobyerno kasi po may mga programa silang katulad nito na tumutulong sa mga kapos-palad katulad ko,” she added.
The TES is a government grants-in-aid program under the Free Education Law or Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act of 2017 (RA 10931) which provides financial assistance to deserving students in tertiary education.
Per school year, a P40,000 grant is given to financially-needy students enrolled in State Universities or Colleges (SUCs) which is used by students to pay tuition and miscellaneous fees and other education expenses.
A student can apply in TES given that he/she is: (a) Filipino Citizen; (b) qualified in admission and retention requirements of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and not exceeding to Maximum Residency Policy; (c) not yet expelled in any HEIs; (d) enrolled in any SUCs, CHEd-recognized Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) or private university under CHEd Registry; and (e) qualified under the UniFAST Board existing policies.
The priority beneficiaries for the TES are: Continuing ESGP-PA scholars in the SUCs effective AY 2018-2019; Students who are part of households included in the Listahanan 2.0 of DSWD, ranked according to the estimated per capita household income; and Student not part of the Listahanan 2.0 ranked according to estimated per capita household income based on submitted documentation of proof of income to be determined by the UniFAST Board.
According to the Student Services Coordinator, Mr. Francis Gerald Amansec, the grant distributed was based on the list of qualified applicants for the Academic Year 2019-2020.
For this academic year, the office is still awaiting for the list from the UniFAST Board.
The distribution was accompanied by Mr. Amansec together with Prof. Celeste T. Mercado, Director for Student Services and Alumni Affairs and Dr. Lorna G. Urbiztondo, Campus Executive Director. /mmpd