Honorees of the Balik Aral Program (BAP) were recognized by the Pasig City local government in a ceremony on Thursday, March 10, at the city hall.
The BAP provides free tuition for local government employees who want to complete a college education at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig (PLP) while working.
The program is parallel to the city's special working student program.
Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto and Councilor Corazon "Corie" Raymundo led the ceremony, along with Congressman Roman Romulo and PLP President Reggie Maningas.
The honorees, who earned placements in either the President's List or the Dean's List, were each awarded a certificate of recognition.
They were also given connectivity allowances to pay for internet expenses.
For the school year 2020 to 2021, 43 employees participated in the program and completed their course works.
Enrollees increased to 98 in the following school year, 2021 to 2022.
The city government has developed initiatives to prioritize and foster education, as demonstrated by the Pasig City Scholarship Program, the recently launched Meralco-Pasig medical scholarship, and offer other kinds of financial support and incentives to all learners in the city, regardless of age or class.
“Kung gusto nating tumaas pa ang kalidad ng serbisyo ng lokal na pamahalaan, kailangan tumaas din ang lebel ang kakayahan, kaalaman, kapasidad ng ating human resources (If we want to improve the quality of the services of our local government, we also need to improve the level of ability, knowledge, and capacity of our human resources),” Sotto said.