Taguig City boosts scholarship fund to P300M

Owing to its success in providing financial assistance to poor but deserving students, the city government of Taguig has increased its scholarship fund from last year’s P200 million to P300 million for 2013, the largest amount the city has ever allocated for the said program.

“Our message is clear: education is a priority in Taguig City. We want to raise generations after generations of professionals in order to improve the quality of life in our city in the near future,” said Mayor Lani Cayetano, who thanked the city council for the approval of the increase in funding of the Lifeline Assistance for Neighbors In-Need (LANI) Scholarship Program.

To date, there are a total of more than 24,000 scholarships granted under LANI program since its inception during Mayor Lani’s term as Taguig City’s chief executive.

“Investing in our students is investing in our future. The more scholars we send to college, the greater are our chances of chasing after their dreams. Their success is the city’s success,” she said.

This year’s budget for the LANI program represents an increase of 50 percent from last year’s LANI program budget and 200 percent from 2011, where the allocation was P100 million.

It also dwarfs the past administration’s allocation for scholarship – a mere P5 million – by increasing it sixty-fold.

For allotting a sizeable amount to the LANI program, Mayor Lani has received awards and citations from the Department of Education (DepEd) for her contributions to the public education sector in Taguig City.

The LANI program has seven basic categories: basic scholarship or financial assistance; full scholarships; state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs) scholarships; premier/specialized schools scholarships; leaders and educators advancement and development (LEAD); review assistance program for bar and board reviewees; and priority courses and skills training.

Aside from earmarking a considerable amount for scholarships, Mayor Lani instituted several reforms in the public education sector aimed at uplifting the quality of education in Taguig City.

Dr. George Tizon, DepEd Taguig-Pateros administrator, said that it was under her leadership that the teacher-student ratio in public elementary and high schools in the city was greatly improved to 1:35, compared to 1:65 during the past administration.

In order to address the lack of classrooms in public schools in Taguig, additional school buildings and modular classrooms were built during Mayor Lani’s administration.

It was also during her term that Taguig City pioneered the e-Graduation, where live video feeds of all the graduation rites in the city’s public schools are streamed in the Internet to allow relatives of the graduates—even those abroad—to witness the ceremonies.

Mayor Lani also launched the Computer-assisted Learning System (CAL) in public schools under the Taguig Cyber Education Program that incorporated the use of information and communication technology within the curriculum.

FILIPINO VERSION:

Dahil sa tinamong tagumpay ng programang nakatulong sa napakaraming mag-aaral ay nagpasya ang city government ng Taguig na itaas sa P300 milyon ang pondo para sa Lifeline Assistance for Neighbors In-Need (LANI) Scholarship Program.

Kaugnay nito ay nagpasalamat si Mayor Lani Cayetano sa city council dahil sa pag-apruba nito.

“Nagpapasalamat tayo sa City Council sa mabilis nilang aksyon para dagdagan ang budget ng scholarship para naman mas maraming mahihirap na estudyante ang ating matulungan,” ani Mayor Lani na nakatanggap ng parangal sa Department of Education dahil sa pagkilala sa kanyang natatanging kontribusyon sa pampublikong edukasyon sa Taguig.

“Wala tayong talo kapag namuhunan tayo sa edukasyon. Ang edukasyon ang susi sa pag-unlad ng ating lipunan,” dagdag pa ng alkalde.

Noong 2011, naglaan ang Taguig City government ng P100 milyon para sa scholarship mula sa natipid nito sa kontrata sa basura. Noong nagdaang taon, itinaas ang pondo sa P200 milyon, at ngayong taon ay umabot na ito ng P300 million kung ikukumpara sa P5 million lamang sa dating administrasyon.

Ang programang scholarship sa ilalim ng administrasyon ni Mayor Lani ay may pitong kategorya: basic scholarship/financial assistance, full, state universities and colleges (SUC) at local universities and colleges (LUC), premier/specialized schools, leaders and educators advancement and development (LEAD), review assistance program for bar and board reviewees; at priority courses at skills training.

Pag-upo ni Mayor Lani sa pwesto nangako ito ng reporma sa edukasyon na siya ngayong ipinatutupad ng kanyang administrasyon.

Bukod sa LANI Scholarship Program na nakapagbigay na ng 24,000 scholarships ay naabot na nito ang 1:35 teacher student ratio. Umabot sa 1:65 ang teacher student ratio sa ilalim ng dating administrasyon, ayon kay Dr. George Tizon, DepEd Taguig-Pateros administrator.

May karagdagan ding school building at modular classrooms ang naipatayo ng Cayetano administration hindi pa man natatapos ni Mayor Lani ang kanyang unang termino ng panunungkulan.

Isa rin sa ipinagmamalaki ng Cayetano administration ay ang pagkakaloob ng de-kalidad na computer curriculum para sa mga estudyante sa pampublikong paaralan. Ito ang Taguig Cyber Education Program kung saan itinuturo ang Singapore based Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) system na magtataas sa kaalaman ng mga mag-aaral sa larangan ng information technology. Upang lubusang maunawaan ng mga mag-aaral ang itinuturo ay naglagay ng cyber laboratory sa mga paaralan.

Tunay na malaki ang naitulong ng pamahalaang lungsod sa mga magulang dahil kahit isang kusing ay walang gagastusin ang mga magulang sa pasukan dahil ibinibigay nang libre ang lahat ng kailangan ng mga estudyante mula ulo hanggang paa. Libre na ang kumpletong set ng ready-to-wear uniform, bag, sapatos, at gamit pang eskwela ng pre-school hanggang high school.

Libre rin ang bayad ng 12,000 mag-aaral sa Taguig City University na noong 2011 Criminology Licensure Examination ay nagtala ng 87.50 percent passing rate kung saan 28 sa 32 board takers ang pumasa.

Ang Taguig din ang unang nagsagawa ng e-Graduation, kung saan ipinalabas ng live sa official website ng Taguig (www.taguig.gov.ph) ang video ng mga nagagagap na graduation noong March 2012 sa mga pampublikong paaralan sa lungsod. Dahil dito nabigyan ng pagkakataon ang mga kaanak ng mga nagsisipagtapos na nasa abroad na makapanood ng graduation ng kanilang mahal sa buhay.