THE City Government Office of Davao has announced that there will be 200 additional slots for Scholarship on Tertiary Education Program (STEP) open for the Academic Year (AY) 2024 - 2025, widening the number of scholars from 1,000 to 1,200 this year.
During the Thursday’s iSpeak Media Forum last week, Emilio Domingo Jr., technical assistant of the Educational Benefit System Unit (EBSU-STEP) clarified that the mayor’s initiative is to cater more students, especially those in the marginalized sectors to continue their studies without having to worry about paying their tuition and matriculation fees.
“Naa’y 200 slots si mayor nga gi-allot para saSTEP. Every year, 1000 lang gyud na, pero karon nasa 1,200 slots na,” Domingo said.
He maintained that qualified scholars are allowed to pursue any of the approved priority four-year courses under the Teacher Education, Information and Technology Education, Health Profession Education, and Social Sciences.
“The city government believes these courses will help the students, after 4 years when they graduate,” Domingo said.
Domingo highlighted the specialization of secondary education majors in science and math, early childhood education, culture and the arts, special needs, sports, and physical activity for Teacher Education.
Scholars may also select from the following fields for information technology education: computer science, cyber security, information systems, entertainment and multimedia, information technology, and library and information science.
For pre-medical majors, they can enroll in medical technology, midwifery, nursing, nutrition and dietetics, occupational therapy, radiologic technology, respiratory therapy, and speech and language pathology in the meantime if they want to work in the health field.
For the social sciences category, these include Community development, psychology, social work, Indigenous peoples studies, and human services (counseling and guidance).
Aside from the Medical Education Assistance Program and the Law School Assistance Program, the city also offers STEP as a scholarship.
There are full and partial scholarships available for law and medical schools. Full scholarships include P20,000 for medical school and P8,000 for law school, in addition to full payment of tuition and other costs.
Currently, around 300 applicants have already registered and pre-qualified since the application opened on June 3 which will end on June 14.
The categories of STEP scholars will be ranked according to their general average upon application and their economic status.
Eligible scholars under Category A will receive P25,000 per semester (P50,000 per year); Category B: P20,000 per sem (P40,000 per year), and Category C will receive P7,500 per sem (P15,000 per year).
Half scholarship for both means half of the tuition, miscellaneous fees, and book allowance.
Currently, EBSU has also a total of 2,368 scholars enrolled in different universities and colleges in the city. DEF
