SENATOR Loren Legarda has raised concerns over possible confusion among students as various government scholarship programs continue to expand.

During a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education, Legarda stressed the need to streamline existing initiatives as lawmakers deliberate on proposals to institutionalize a new national scholarship program.

The committee tackled Senate Bill No. 1913, Senate Bill No. 1954, and House Bill No. 8477, which seek to establish and fund the proposed Presidential Merit Scholarship Program Act. The measure aims to support academically outstanding senior high school graduates who also come from financially challenged backgrounds.

“This seeks to institutionalize a national merit scholarship for academically exceptional senior high school graduates who also demonstrate financial need,” Legarda said.

While expressing support for the initiative, the senator cautioned that the growing number of scholarship programs may lead to confusion among beneficiaries.

“It is good that we have this, but it may cause confusion because we already have the Tulong Dunong Program and other scholarship programs. We may be promising too many, and beneficiaries might not know where they belong,” she added.

Legarda emphasized the importance of clearly defining eligibility criteria and consolidating information to help students better navigate available educational assistance.

The committee also discussed proposed amendments to Republic Act No. 7796, which seek to modernize the mandate of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and strengthen monitoring systems for technical-vocational scholarship programs.

According to Legarda, improving oversight is essential to ensure that government-funded scholarships deliver meaningful outcomes.

“I think that’s very important to have an impact evaluation for all the scholarships because we are able to fund a lot of scholarships and sometimes we don’t know whatever happens,” she said.