San Fernando, Pampanga”•Pampanga Gov. Dennis Pineda has urged the incoming scholars of the province to get a better education, be competitive in the job market, and help to reduce poverty.
Pineda called on the scholars to emulate Jeremiah Austria Caceres, a Pampanga scholar who topped the 2019 nursing licensure exams last month.
Caceres, who garnered 87.40 percent rating, the same as Almira Hinsoy of West Visayas State University, is an alumnus of Angeles University Foundation.
The 20-year-old nursing scholar said hard work, dedication, and prayers dovetailed with the financial assistance from the provincial government to contribute to her success.
The daughter of a barangay health volunteer. Caceres said she is getting many job offers but has not accepted anything in particular.
Pineda said a good education “is the most powerful instrument to uplift the living conditions of the scholars and be partners of the provincial government in nation building.”
The provincial government will continue to help the poor but deserving students under the Educational Financial Assistance Program so that others can also realize their personal ambitions, he said.
Under the program for school year 2018-2019 alone, the provincial government spent P82 million for 20,898 college scholars and professional licensure takers, including Caceres.
This is aside from a P2,500 cash gift to each K-12 graduate last March, amounting to P38.3 million.
A total of P1.2 billion was spent last year under the scholarship program, which started in 2010 under Gov. Lilia Pineda.