The government has set aside some P850 million next year to finance the studies of 3,201 scholars taking up masteral and doctoral degrees in science, engineering and mathematics under the scholarship program of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
This will allow 2,407 Masters in Science (MS) and 794 Doctor in Philosophy (PhD) students to pursue higher studies. “These MS and PhD graduates in science form the bedrock of our development. If we want to grow, this is one urgently needed human capital we must develop,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto said.
“India and China are churning out science and engineering graduates by the hundreds of thousands. They form the tip of the spear of their competitiveness,” he said.
In addition, the DOST will also be spending P1.33 billion for the tuition, monthly stipend and other allowances of 16,557 students enrolled in science-related undergraduate courses.
Recto said the DOST’s scholarship program also supports 6,493 students in 14 Philippine Science High School (PSHS) campuses.
The budget of the PSHS system will increase from P1.08 billion this year to P1.91 billion next year, Recto said. “We’re increasing the budget of PSHS by almost a billion pesos.”
Of PSHS’s 2016 budget, P254 million is earmarked for the monthly stipend, uniform, transportation allowances of PSHS scholars, Recto explained.
Recto chairs the Senate finance subcommittee hearing the DOST’s proposed P17.9 billion for 2016.