P103-M scholarship program for aspiring teachers can be path toward excellence--lady solon
At A Glance
- Rep. Ching Bernos welcomed the P103.32‑million Teacher Education Scholarship Program (TESP) under RA 11713 to attract outstanding graduates to teaching.
- DepEd and CHEd say 720 students nationwide will benefit, focusing on early childhood, values, and special needs education.
- Bernos vowed to push for more funding in the 2027 budget to address the learning crisis.
Solid North Party-list Rep. Ching Bernos (Facebook)
Solid North Party-list Rep. Ching Bernos hailed the government’s launch of a scholarship program for aspiring teachers, which she said would help attract the best minds to the teaching profession.
The Department of Education (DepEd)-Teacher Education Council and Commission on Higher Education’s (CHEd) Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education launched earlier this month the P103.32-million Teacher Education Scholarship Program (TESP).
“The TESP could prove crucial in encouraging outstanding high school graduates to go into the teaching profession and help ensure that we have excellent teachers in the future,” Bernos said.
The program is a flagship initiative under Republic Act (RA) No.11713, or the Excellence in Teacher Education Act of 2022. It intends to strengthen teachers' preparation and raise the standards in the noble profession.
According to DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara, 720 students from across the country will benefit from the pilot launch.
The selected students are under three specialization degrees which have been identified as needing additional support to ensure that learners receive age-appropriate, values-centered and inclusive education. These are: early childhood education, values education and special needs education.
Bernos expressed her hope that the program would receive greater funding in the following years, as she underlined, “We need topnotch teachers if we want to provide topnotch education to all.”
She vowed that she would campaign for the program to receive a boost in the upcoming budget deliberations for the 2027 national budget.
“Ilalaban po natin ito, at ang iba pang pangangailangan sa higher education sector na makatutulong sa pagtugon sa learning crisis sa ating bansa," Bernos said.
(We will fight for this, as well as the other needs of the higher education sector that would help address the learning crisis in our country.)