LUNA, Apayao – With the goal of assisting indigenous students in their academic pursuits, the National Commission of Indigenous People (NCIP)-Apayao reminds anew yApayao students of the scholarship program offered by the commission.
In order to be qualified for the program, candidates must have a general weighted average of 80 or higher, obtain a Certificate of Confirmation (COC) from the NCIP, submit an application providing the most recent grades and enrollment form (if enrolled) and the most recent Income Tax Return (ITR) or Certificate of Tax Exempt. A Genealogy form must also be completed by prospective grantees in order to provide information about their IP group place of origin and family history.
Interested applicants are encouraged to submit their applications at the NCIP Apayao Office.
NCIP-Apayao has been offering scholarships to eligible/deserving Indigenous People (IP) students since 2001. Since then, the scholarship program has helped over thousands of grantees from the Indigenous group, and has produced more than 750 professionals.
The program offers the Educational Assistance Program (EAP) and the Special Educational Assistance Program (SEAP) as two different scholarship options. Under the EAP assistance, 125 grantees are selected annually, with a semestral assistance of P12,500. The latter assistance which is the SEAP is slated for 27 grantees, annually, receiving a P19,000 stipend.
This year the NCIP-Apayao under the NCIP-CAR allocated a budget of P3.125 million for the EAP and P1.26 million for SEAP in partnership with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU).
Aligned with the vision of Apayao’s founding father, Elias K. Bulut Sr., to produce at least one professional in every yApayao family, NCIP scholarship program, likewise, provides financial aid to help students experiencing financial constraints to support them in achieving their dreams.
“These educational assistance programs strike at the heart of every IP family in Apayao.We continue to cater to poor but deserving IP students and we’re glad that as we speak, we have already produced a great number of successful professionals. The mission goes on and we will not falter despite the agency’s limitations. We appeal to Congress to allocate more funds to NCIP to accommodate more IP scholars,” said Genesis Quiblado Provincial Officer of NCIP Apayao. By Joyce Arian Soria
