Bill caps scholarship grants

A bill intended to spread out the dwindling government scholarship funds passed the House of Representatives yesterday in what lawmakers consider a necessary step to stop the practice of giving generous financial aid package to students attending college in the mainland.

It will seek to cap the grants at $15,000 per student annually beginning this fall semester, covering tuition, books, stipend, room and board, other school fees and costs as well as transportation, up to five consecutive years.

The measure, part of the short-term solution to funding shortfall in the local educational assistance program, now heads to the Senate for action.

Introduced by Rep. Bernadita T. Seman, House Bill 11-375 came on the heels of a controversy swirling around the CNMI scholarship program which erupted after students from the Northern Marianas College protested what they claimed as special preference for off-island students.

The problem has been compounded by absence of EAP funds for 530 NMC students this spring semester, amounting to $575,000 which the government failed to appropriate under the current fiscal budget.

According to Rep. Heinz Hofschneider, chair of the House committee on Health, Education and Welfare, the government can expect more than $325,000 in savings from the move underscored by the tight financial condition of the CNMI government.

“That will provide much needed money to all on-island and off-island students. Everybody will have a fair advantage or fair treatment to continue staying in school and be able to receive the grants,” he said in an interview after the session.

Finance officials last week urged the legislature to set a ceiling on the scholarship grants under Public Law 7-32 whose unrestricted monetary awards have allowed abuse by some students in the past.

Assistance extended to them oftentimes reach to as much as $30,000 per year due to reimbursement of costs not directly related to their schooling. This practice, according to finance officials, has strained the local coffers.

The government allotted close to $4 million to the scholarship program for FY 1999, but because of the decline in actual revenue collections, the Tenorio administration shaved 13.4 percent from the amount in line with the austerity measures.

Vicky Villagomez, acting special assistant for Management and Budget, disclosed that the funds are running short by about $128,784, adding that the restriction in the grants as well as suspension of the program this summer will help prevent huge deficit, while providing some funding for NMC.

The financially troubled state college is currently under investigation by HEW due to allegations of mismanagement, charges denied by NMC officials.

Meanwhile, Hofschneider said cutting off educational grants this summer will not require legislation, but a policy change of the advisory council to the CNMI Scholarship Board.