Cadiz City’s “unique scholarship” program got more than 5,000 student-applicants for the second semester of school year 2023-2024.
Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. said the distribution of application forms was held at Cadiz Arena on Feb. 17 and 18.
The application was open to both current and new scholars and even to walk-in college students as long as they are bonafide Cadiz City residents.
Processing of applications will commence this week, and the final results will be announced before the second semester starts next week.
“It is unique because our 23-year-old Cadiz City Education Assistance Program (CCEAP) is not just for the brightest or academically-excellent students, but also for the mediocre ones,” Escalante said.
The mayor said he does not want to be choosy or biased against those considered as only average or mediocre students.
“For as long as the city government can afford it, we will not be choosy. The CCEAP is not just for the poor, deserving or brightest college students,” he pointed out.
A brainchild of Escalante himself, the CCEAP was founded 23 years ago inspired by the life stories of taipans like John Gokongwei, Lucio Tan and Ramon Ang.
“Academically speaking, these renowned taipans were just average students during their college days. But they excelled in business,” the mayor said.
“So, who knows? Some Cadiz students maybe mediocre now, but tomorrow, they will be ‘the best’ in their chosen endeavors,” he added.
Cadiz allocates P16 million per semester or P32 million annually for the CCEAP.
For this very reason, Escalante said the city government is set to establish its own city college.
“Our CCEAP allocation per year is more than enough to run a city/community college, so we are in the stage now of finalizing the plan,” he confirmed. ||
