DA Scholarship Program turns to Grant-aid program

With the paradigm shift of free education in Nation State Universities and Colleges, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will now adopt the Grant-aid program instead of free tuition in implementing the of Agricultural Competiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) Scholarship Program. The shift will also try to solve all issues and concerns regarding its implementation for the past years.

This was stressed during the State Universities and Colleges (SUC’s) Consultative Meeting for the DA-ACEF Program last March 24, 2017 at the Eco lodge, Baguio City.

ACEF support’s the implementation of a Scholarship Program to the deserving students who have opted to enroll in agriculture-related courses in the nations SUC’s. Last year 2016, the new ACEF Extension Law was enacted; effectively transferring to the Commission on Higher Education the duty to implement so the DA, CHED and Landbank were tasked to draft the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

During the meeting, issues on delay of payment of the scholarship to SUC’s, issues on requirement and the strict implementation of the guidelines were raised. DA announced that the new IRR will answer all the problems of the said program.

“The new IRR will be more attractive and comprehensive since it will give birth to a much simple set of ACEF guidelines for easier implementation” according to Atty. James Franco Concio of the Office of the Undersecretary for Special Concerns.

The said program will be named now as the ACEF Grants-in-aid-program (ACEF GIAP). It shall cover the tuition and other fees, stipends and book allowance. It will also accommodate more grantees that will require less stringent standards in terms of qualification, Concio added.

In line with this, DA was tasked to determine the qualified applicants to be screened, evaluated and to create a database. Pursuant to the law, the children of farmers and fisher folk will be the priority beneficiaries of the ACEP GIAP.

With this DA hopes to increase the number of enrollees in higher education who will be trained in the scientific habit of thought, entrepreneurial skills and technical competencies in the area of agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary medicines