893 poor studes get stipends

SAN NICOLAS, Ilocos Norte, August 9  — A total of 893 underprivileged elementary and high school students received stipends under the ‘Iskolar ni Manang Imee’ program in this town on August 7.
Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos handed the stipends to the  students and encouraged their parents to let their children finish schooling.Each elementary student received a one-time P250 cash incentive while high school students received P450 for their miscellaneous expenses.The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Office under the Office of the Governor identified the students who need financial assistance in order to pay for miscellaneous school fees.

The ‘Iskolar ni Manang Imee’ is an initiative of Marcos that provides cash grants to poor but deserving students.

Thousands of elementary, high school, and college students are sent to school for free in Ilocos Norte to achieve the ‘free education for all’ goal of the provincial government.

On top of the financial assistance, the provincial government also distributed school supplies such as books, chalk boards, and chart racks, as well as cleaning supplies and nebulizers to 13 schools where the students come from.

MDG schools or indigent schools are identified under the National Housing Targeting System of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. There are 346 indigent elementary schools and 48 indigent secondary schools in the province.

Marcos believes that the program will help attain the free education for all, one of the MDGs of the province, as well as contribute to manpower development. (ANL/CDG-PIA 1 Ilocos Norte)