ITOGON, Benguet – Benguet Corporation (BC) continues to add to the number of its scholarship beneficiaries who now run a total of 463 qualified students in various levels of education from the host and neighboring barangays of its various operations in the country since 2008.
For this schoolyear alone, Benguet Corp. is sending 345 students to school. 75 of them come from barangays Virac, Poblacion, Ucab and Gumatdang in Itogon, Benguet, host barangays of the mining company’s Gold Operations. 61 are in secondary and 14 are in the tertiary levels respectively with three of them just resuming their classes last week in one of the universities in Baguio City.
The company’s Irisan Lime Operations in Baguio accounts for one college scholar, having started its scholarship program last year. BenguetCorp Nickel Mines Inc. (BNMI) has also accepted 269 scholars, 194 in high school, 65 in college and 10 in tech-voc from its host and neighboring barangays in Sta. Cruz and Candelaria, Zambales.
So far, the resumed scholarship program has produced 135 graduates.
Apart from covering the school fees, these scholars also receive monthly allowances.
Scholarship grants continue to be the main program for the education component of the Social Development and Management Programs(SDMP’s) of the various operations of Benguet Corp.
At the height of the oldest mining company’s Benguet Gold Operations, it gave scholarships to 200 college scholars yearly in Benguet Province alone, until its temporary closure in 1992. Dependents of employees have also enjoyed free elementary and subsidized high school education. Up until 2002, the number of students granted educational subsidies has reached 185,000.
