1,825 aspiring scholars take on the 2023 DOST-SEI Scholarship Exam in CAR

■ ROSTON JOHN BONILLA

Atotal of 1,825 aspirants in the Cordillera Administrative Region took the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) Undergraduate Scholarship Examination on March 18-19, 2023.

The DOST-SEI’s pen-and-paper examination is back in determining future science scholars in the country. For the past two years, examinations were put to a halt due to safety concerns brought about by the pandemic. Qualifiers were selected through model-based data analytics of proxy indicators ensuring the continuous provision of scholarships by the institution.

This year, the DOST-CAR and the Provincial S&T Offices joined in the nationwide conduct of the exams. Seven testing centers spread around CAR were put in place to cater to young hopefuls from the six (6) provinces. This examination will determine the fresh batch of scholars that will add up to the 1,698 ongoing undergraduate S&T scholars supported in the region.

Qualifiers will be awarded the scholarship this Academic Year 2023-2024 as they enter their first year in college. The scholars are expected to take S&T priority courses as their undergraduate degree. Furthermore, they are to enrol in state universities and colleges or in private institutions recognized by the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) as centers of development and centers of excellence or as accredited by the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP) with a Level III certification.

Scholars will also benefit from tuition fee subsidies of up to P40,000 per academic year, monthly stipends of P7,000, learning materials/connectivity allowance of P5,000 per semester, health insurance, clothing allowance, transportation allowance, thesis and graduation allowance on top of other non-monetary S&T learning assistance.

The list of qualifiers for the 2023 DOST-SEI Undergraduate Scholarship Program will be published on the DOST-SEI website https://www.sei.dost.gov.ph/ and in leading national newspapers sometime in June 2023.

128 additional examinees in the region are also vying for scholarships offered by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration’s (OWWA) Education for Development Scholarship Program (EDSP) and the Congressional Migrant Workers Scholarship Program (CMWSP). The OWWA Examination is a rider of the DOST-SEI Undergraduate Scholarship Examination for the selection of its scholars.