Considering the necessity of the internet as a tool for learning and its rising cost in the Philippines, leading fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. is launching an internet scholarship program for 10 underprivileged public school students in senior high under the brand name of its postpaid fiber plan BIDA.
“While we now serve more than 2 million customers with high-speed broadband, the reality is many more remain unserved by the benefits of technology. This includes young students, who are in danger of being left behind by their global peers as indicated in surveys such as the Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA,” said Converge President Maria Grace Uy.
“With this in mind, we now launch the BIDA Fiber Internet Scholarship Program, which is our company’s homegrown initiative to fight the learning poverty our students face. We hope that with this free access to the internet, underprivileged students may reach their full potential as learners and ultimately, as productive citizens,” she continued.
Moreover, initiatives geared toward better access to education are aligned with the company’s thrust to meet Sustainable Development Goal 4, Quality Education, and Sustainable Development Goal 1, No Poverty. Education is among the company’s key issue areas when it comes to corporate support, having inked a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Education at the height of the pandemic in 2021 to enhance the remote delivery of education.
The BIDA Fiber Internet Scholarship Program is open to incoming Grade 11 students enrolled in public schools who have chosen the STEM track. They must also be in the top 10 percent of their graduating batch, among other requirements.
For Converge, both connectivity and education are society’s great equalizing forces, allowing marginalized and disadvantaged groups to access the same resources as privileged ones and leveling the playing field in terms of opportunities in the job market.
This scholarship comes amid the generally cost-prohibitive nature of broadband internet in the country, especially for the underprivileged.
According to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, among the ASEAN-5 countries (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines), we have the costliest monthly internet at USD 44.93, or more than P2,000. Moreover, the World Bank blog notes that in the Philippines, the annual charge for fixed broadband takes up 11 percent of the gross national income, which is double the ASEAN average.
At P888 a month, the BIDA Fiber postpaid plan is the most economical postpaid broadband offering in the market today, offering 75 Mbps for six devices, with no data caps.
Applicants may submit their requirements from June 25 to July 10. The awarding of the scholarship will be on July 30.
