MANILA — The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) will present to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. the guidelines for the cash-based Bagong Pilipinas Merit Scholarship Program aimed at students from low- to middle-income families.

“Mayroon itong PhP634 million to cover 20,000 slots and this is across the country. We are scheduled to present the guidelines mamaya kay President BBM kasi ito ang kanyang number one na ibinigay sa amin sa bagong administrasyon ng CHED,” CHED Chairperson Dr. Shirley Agrupis said during a press briefing at the Palace on Tuesday.

Under the merit-based scholarship, students are encouraged to enroll in government priority programs offered by private universities or state universities and colleges (SUCs).

Agrupis said scholars enrolled in SUCs in Metro Manila may receive a PhP25,000 stipend per semester and a PhP4,000 allowance for books and connectivity, for a total benefit of PhP29,000 per semester. Stipends will be lower for scholars enrolled in SUCs outside the National Capital Region.

For students studying in private universities in the NCR, the benefits include a PhP75,000 tuition fee subsidy, a PhP25,000 stipend, and a PhP4,000 allowance for books and connectivity.

The total annual support for students enrolled in private universities amounts to PhP208,000 for those in the NCR and PhP98,000 for those outside Metro Manila.

Agrupis explained that the selection of scholarship slots will be conducted per region using a formula developed by CHED.

“We already have here the number of senior high schools per region, and then we designated the top five (students), kasi this is, I call it the triple A scholarship program, based on the general weighted average, iyong top five ang kukunin namin,” Agrupis said.

“Mayroon na po silang pag-asa na matupad ang kanilang mga ambisyon at makatulong sa pagbuo ng Bagong Pilipinas,” she added.