Photo by Comenei Ali
COTABATO CITY— A brighter future awaits another 182 students across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and other service-covered areas who took their oath today, March 8, as scholars of the Mujahideen Assistance for Science Education (MASE) program.
Both parents and students were excited as they pledge their commitment for the Php40,000 per semester cash assistance courtesy of the MASE program implemented by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST).
“The initial amount of Php 24,000 we handed over today is good for three months, the remaining Php 16,000.00 for this semester will be downloaded to their bank account,” said Rocaya Edres of MOST’s Science Education Scholarship Grants.
MASE is a cash assistance program under the Transitional Development Impact Fund (TDIF) of Member of Parliament (MP) Engr. Aida Silongan, who is also the minister of MOST. The program is anchored to MOST’s Science Education, Scholarships, and Grants (SESG) which supports the sons and daughters of combatants who are taking science and technology courses at any college level. It is also supported by other MPs.
Silongan congratulated the students and their parents and reminded them that being a grantee is a rare opportunity.
“Congratulations on taking this significant step toward your dream of becoming experts in Science and Technology,” Silongan said emphasizing that MASE is a stepping stone toward the success of the grantees and the Bangsamoro Government.
“As a MASE grantee, you were given a valuable opportunity to pursue your study without the burden of financial constraint,” she added.
Twenty-two-year-old Mojahied Agaso, a 3rd Civil Engineering from Notre Dame University in this city was among this batch of grantees. According to him, his mother is a plain housewife while his father is a farmer, hence he was glad to become part of the program.
“Masaya po ako na mapabilang sa scholarship na ito dahil nalaking tulong po ito sa pamilya ko,” said.
When asked about his vision for the Bangsamoro people, he said that he hopes to serve the community as soon as he becomes an engineer.
According to MOST, they have laid various mechanisms to ensure that grantees abide by the guidelines of the scholarship program. This includes the monitoring of their grades where a failing grade could be a ground for delisting from the grant.
In June last year, MOST also conducted a mass oath-taking ceremony for the first 184 grantees under MASE, which means that the program now has 366 grantees. Minister Silongan shared that as they envision increasing the numbers, they constantly strategize to let other MPs partake in the program through their TDIF.
Source of fund for this batch was pledged by the following MPs, in no particular order: Atty. Lanang Ali Jr., Suwaib Oranon, Atty. Rasol Mitmug, Jr., Hatimil Hassan, Mujib Abu, Muslima Asmawil, Faiz Alaudin, Rasul Ismael, Abdullah Hashim, and Engr. Aida Silongan.
Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal facilitated the oath taking of the grantees. (Abdullah Matucan/BIO)
