COTABATO CITY— Four hundred (400) more students in the Bangsamoro region have sworn in as new scholars of the regional government’s 5th cohort of Access to Higher and Modern Education Scholarship Program (AHME-SP).
On Tuesday, Sep. 10, the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) held a mass signing and oath-taking ceremony for the new scholars, of whom 200 are from Maguindanao, 100 from Cotabato City, and 100 from the Special Geographic Area.
MBHTE Minister Mohagher Iqbal emphasized education as one of the top priorities of the BARMM government, with one-third of the regional budget allocated to educational initiatives.
“Education is the most important thing to people […] It is an obligation to every one of you that once you finish your college degree—you have to serve yourself, your family, and the community,” Iqbal told the scholars.
Iqbal also reminded them that the BARMM government’s creation involved significant sacrifices from Bangsamoro martyrs.
“BARMM government was not given to us on a silver platter… because (it was earned through the) blood, sweat, and lives of our Bangsamoro martyrs in exchange for it,” he said.
Among the new scholars is Bai Aleynnah Mott Sepi, a first-year student at Notre Dame Hospital and School of Midwifery in Cotabato Ctiy, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Radiologic Technology. Sepi, 19, is one of seven siblings and is grateful for the scholarship.
“I can’t express how grateful I am being one of the qualified MBHTE scholars,” Sepi said, sharing that she was a consistent honor student throughout junior and senior high school. Her high grades earned her distinction of being a scholar.
“One of my struggles before, naranasan ko yung mag-e-exam na pero iniisip ko pa rin kung saan kukunin iyong pambayad sa natitirang tuition fees,” she recalled.
“To give back, I want to serve them (the Bangsamoro) and I also want to repay the blessings given to me by Allah, Inn Shaa Allah,” she said.
AHME-SP, managed by MBHTE’s Higher Education Directorate, provides financial support to each scholar amounting to P60,000 per academic year or P30,000 per semester.
Since its inception in 2020, the scholarship program has provided free education to 5,400 grantees. This year, over 1,000 scholars have graduated as part of the AHME program’s first batch.
“Our Chief Minister (Ahod Ebrahim) thought of this as a gift for the Bangsamoro children as he knows the struggles and hardships of the Bangsamoro in terms of education,” said MBHTE Director General for Higher Education Marjuni Maddi. (Myrna Tepadan/BIO)
