MPLT eyed to fund scholarship

The government may tap funds from Marianas Public Land Trust to finance a proposed new scholarship program that will cater to indigenous people trained to work in the private sector.

Sen. Richardo S. Atalig, chair of the Senate education committee which is drafting the legislation, has disclosed provisions of the proposal, but said final details are still forthcoming.

“It’s going to be a loan system, not just a grant given to you and that’s it. It’s not going to be like in the past,” he told in an interview.

The committee hopes to present the plan by this month once the review of all the different pending bills and existing laws tackling the scholarship program is complete.

It has already crafted a fourth draft of the proposed measure following changes to its provisions to remove loopholes and potential problems.

“I need to finalize it now so I can meet with the committee sometimes this month. It’s on its final stage already,” said Mr. Atalig. “We’ll try to pass it as soon as we are ready.”

Several bills have been introduced in both houses to overhaul to current program amid difficulties in identifying funding source to assist CNMI students schooling here or in the U.S. mainland.

There are various types of financial grants and educational assistance presently being given to the students, but these have suffered drastic cuts in the past three years due to the economic crisis confronting the islands.

Lawmakers have been seeking to change the system in order to ensure continuous funding with such proposals as student loan program and merit scholarship grants.

According to Mr. Atalig, the proposed bill will use the trust funds of MPLT as seed money in the bank where the interests can be used as revolving account to finance the new program.

“We want to use the MPLT funds for our indigenous people so they can go abroad to study and come back here to fill these jobs likes doctors, nurses, teachers, tradesmen, engineers and accountants,” he said.

The Rota senator also maintained the new program should guarantee jobs in the CNMI for returning students. “If we can have this opportunity for them to come back, then maybe they can replace guest workers,” he added.

“We are trying to cater to our indigenous people. They need to get involved more in our labor force and we are trying to address that. If we stay contented under the present system, how can we replace nonresident workers?”

To entice students to work in the private sector, the proposed program will provide incentives for them to consider jobs other than in the government, such as lower interest rates in paying back the loan.

“There will be a system to track the students where they are and to have close communications with them,” said Mr. Atalig.