The House Committee on People's Participation today cited the Russian government's university-based scholarship program for foreigners which is open to Filipinos.

“We are very fortunate that this kind of opportunity is being offered to us," panel chairperson San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan Rep. Florida “Rida” Robes said a few days after holding a virtual briefing with members of the Russian Embassy in the Philippines.

"This is the kind of partnership that we need in order to give our young students valuable education in their fields of interest,” Robes said.

Robes said she called for the Sept. 3 briefing over Zoom to enable her colleagues in the House of Representatives to have information on the scholarship grants being offered by the Russian government to Filipino students and graduates.

Tatiana Shlychkova, Vladislav Mongush, and Denis Karenin attended the briefing for the Russian Embassy.

Shlychkova, deputy head of the embassy, called their scholarship program a "very good opportunity" for foreign students to avail of the perks of the Russian education system.

"I want to stress that the special government programs provide very good opportunities for foreigners who want to, for example, find a good level of education in universities and taking into account that in Russia, we have (a) very wide room of the professions. Any qualifications, we will meet, specialists of any kind," she said.

"Once again I want to underline that this program provides free education and also they can live in special dormitories, also free. It's very good," Shlychkova pointed out to the House panel.

Karenin, second secretary of the embassy, told the committee that the Russian government has been allotting slots for scholarships for Filipinos every year but only a small number have been availing them.

The Kremlin gives scholarships to any field of study for both undergraduate and post-graduate courses, he said. He noted that application forms are available on the embassy website.

Some of the courses available include nuclear physics, agriculture, medicine, energy, and railway management. “But students may choose any field of specialization in any university,” Karenin said.

He said that while the Russian government will provide free tuition and accommodation, the airfare will have to be shouldered by the student.

Karenin stated that local government units may also submit applications in behalf of their student-constituents for better coordination and facilitation.

Robes said she would facilitate the submission of applications of some students from her district who have expressed their interest in availing themselves of the scholarship in Russia.