High school students with exceptional academic performances will be given presidential merit scholarships, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on his fourth State of the Nation Address Monday.
In SONA 2025, Marcos said the scholarship program will be awarded to graduating high school students with highest honors in recognition of their efforts.
“Bilang natatanging pagkilala, gagawaran natin ng Presidential Merit Scholarships ang mga high school graduates na makakakuha ng Highest Honors,” he said.
(To recognize their efforts, high school students with highest honors will be awarded with presidential merit scholarships.)
Malacañang has yet to provide further details on the scholarship program.
Meanwhile, the President also reiterated that Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs will be included in the strands for the senior high school (SHS) curriculum program.
“Ibig sabihin, ang mag-aaral natin, Senior High School pa lamang, makakapili na siya kung Bookkeeping, Agribusiness, Electrical, o Graphic Design ang kanyang napupusuang larangan,” he said.
(This means that as early as SHS, students can choose if they want to pursue Bookkeeping, Agribusiness, Electrical, or Graphic Design.)
“Diretso pagka-graduate, puwede na agad mag-hanapbuhay kung gugustuhin, dahil para na rin siyang nakapag-aral sa TESDA at nakakuha ng NC II o NC III,” he added.
(After they graduate, they can already work if they want to because it would like they they studied under TESDA and completed NC II or NC III.)
Marcos vowed of additional P60 billion budget in support for the free tertiary education and technical vocational (tech-voc) programs in the country. He also said the number of scholars under the TESDA tech-voc program grew by 200,000 in 2024. —AOL, GMA Integrated News
