GSIS opens 200 college scholarship grants for SY 2012-2013

Thursday 21st of June 2012

MANILA, June 19 (PIA) -- The Government Service Insurance System announced that low-income government workers may start nominating their children to the enhanced College Scholarship Program of the Government Service Insurance System, where 200 slots are available for the 2012-2013 school year.

Deadline of applications will be on June 30.

"As part of celebrating our 75th anniversary this year, the current Board of Trustees revised the scholarship program to ensure that our low-income members will be given the opportunity to send their children to colleges and universities that provide quality education," GSIS President and General Manager Robert G. Vergara said.

Unlike the past scholarship programs, the selection of scholars will no longer be done through an electronic raffle.

The GSIS will instead accept scholarship nominees from members with a salary grade of 24 or below, or its equivalent. The nominees' parents with the lowest salary grades will be given priority in the scholarship grant. Further, the nominee must be a child of the member and an incoming freshman accepted in the schools identified by the pension fund.

The scholar of the program will be entitled to the actual cost of tuition and miscellaneous fees not exceeding P20,000 and a monthly stipend of P2,000. The scholar may also opt to take a four- or five-year course but must meet the scholastic requirements set by the school for student retention under the program.

The distribution of the 200 scholarship slots per region will be proportionate to the number of GSIS members in each region. Thus, GSIS will select 60 scholars from NCR; three (3) from CAR; nine (9) from Region 1; nine (9) from Region 2; 16 from Region 3; 10 from Region 4-A; one (1) from Region 4-B;11 from Region 5; 14 from Region 6; 10 from Region 7; 11 from Region 8; 12 from
Region 9; 11 from Region 10; nine (9) from Region 11; 10 from Region 12; and four (4) from Region 13.

The pension fund has already awarded a total of 1,371 scholarship grants since the inception in 1998. From this total, 404 active scholars are currently enrolled in various colleges and universities nationwide as of April this year.

Aside from the scholarship program, the GSIS is granting its members, a P4,000 educational assistance, which is payable in five years at six percent interest rate.

Interested parties may visit the nearest GSIS office in their area for a complete list of GSIS-accredited educational institutions under the GSIS College Scholarship Program and other details or call 479.3645 and 976.4970 or visit the nearest GSIS office and website, www.gsis.gov.ph. (ALT/JPA/PIA-9)