High school teachers teaching Science and Mathematics are encouraged by the Department of Education (DepEd) to apply for a graduate scholarship program provided by the government.
“These challenges are confronting us and as we face this pandemic I doubt that this will be our last pandemic, there will be more of them,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said in a statement issued Saturday, April 17. “We’ll be needing more scientists, more people in science and technology,” she added.
As part of its commitment to deliver quality basic education, DepEd said science and mathematics teachers teaching in the secondary level to apply for a graduate scholarship - particularly the Part-Time Scholarship for Science and Mathematics Teachers offered by the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI).
DepEd said that as indicated in its Memorandum No. 15, s. 2021, the grant is open to High School Science and Mathematics (S&M) teachers who are currently employed with teaching load and have teaching experience of less than seven years.
“Moreover, awardees shall have a P20,000 tuition grant per semester and a P60,000 thesis grant,” DepEd said.
DepEd explained that this program aims to make graduate education more accessible to talented Science and Mathematics teachers who are financially constrained to pursue graduate studies; upgrade the teaching of S&M in the secondary level through teacher education programs; and to accelerate the development of critical mass experts in science and mathematics education.
The program, which is under the Capacity Building Program in Science and Mathematics Education (CBPSME), is collaboration with the National Consortium in Graduate Science and Mathematics Education and the S&T Regional Alliance of Universities for National Development (STRAND).
DepEd said that there are 16 CBPSME and three (3) STRAND universities all over the Philippines that will serve as study placements for the scholarship. Interested teachers may check out www.sei.dost.gov.ph for more information about the grant.
“We educators must always strive for lifelong learning we need to be constantly educated, and we must always strive to possess mastery in our fields,” Briones said. “It is important that we do this so we can impart new learnings to our learners,” she added.