The OFW Dependents Scholarship Program (OFWDSP) is one of the scholarship programs offered by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to help provide financial assistance to dependents of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who want to pursue a college degree.
The scholarship program provides a Php20,000 endowment to the OFW dependent (child or sibling of an active OWWA member) who wants to pursue a college education, whether a 4-5 year baccalaureate degree or an associate degree in a state college or university.
What are the Qualifications?
To qualify for the OFWDSP, the following requirements must be met:
- The OFW is an active and contributing member of the OWWA
- The OFW only earns a salary that is less than $400 per month
- The dependent must not be more than 21 years old
- The dependent is not enjoying another scholarship from OWWA
- The dependent must have a General Weighted Average of 80 percent or higher
- The dependent must belong to the top 20 percent of the graduating class
- The dependent should have already graduated from senior high school
- The dependent must have passed the entrance examinations at the college or university he/she intends to study in
Take note that slots are limited for the scholarship program. Not everyone who qualify will automatically get the scholarship.
Every year, only 1,250 slots are allocated for the OFWDSP. The following slots are available:
- 200 scholars for the slots of 10 poorest provinces
- 204 scholars for 17 cities at 12 scholars each
- 840 scholars for 80 provinces at 12 scholars each
- 6 slots for applicants with meritorious cases c/o Home Office/ROCS
How to Apply for the Scholarship?
According to the OFW Guide, these are the requirements that should be prepared by interested applicants:
- 2 copies of 2 x 2 photo (colored)
- Certificate of Good Moral Character issued by the School Principal/Guidance Counselor
- Medical Certificate/Clearance issued by hospital/clinic accredited by DOH
- Proof of OWWA membership of the member-OFW (Membership Verification Sheet issued by OWWA Membership Processing Center (MPC), or Official Receipt of OWWA contribution)
- Proof of relationship to OWWA member, such as the following:
- Birth Certificate of applicant certified by the Local Civil Registrar or the NCSO (if applicant is the child of member-OFW)
- Birth Certificate of both applicant and member-OFW certified by the Local Civil Registrar or the NCSO (if applicant is the brother or sister of the member-OFW)
- School Records (Form 137, Transcript of Records)
Interested applicants are advised to prepare these requirements ahead of time so that by the time the OWWA announces that they will start accepting applications for scholarships, they can immediately pass their complete papers.
As early as in February, the OWWA has already announced that slots will be opened for 2019-2020 school year this April.
