— The Department of Science and Technology’s Science Education Institute said Friday it’s looking into revising its policies “to better provide” for the needs of scholars relying on their stipend amid the pandemic.
The statement comes days after some of its graduate scholars took to social media to complain that they would not be getting all the five monthly stipends they were receiving prior to the pandemic. Graduate scholars are not allowed to work while their scholarship program is ongoing. After graduation, they are required to render service in the country for a period equivalent to how long they received financial assistance from the DOST-SEI.
“In particular, we are looking at ways to help our scholars receive funding in a more timely manner given the adjustments and concessions that universities have had to undertake in the wake of the pandemic,” the DOST-SEI said.