SOME 3,500 learners across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have benefited from the Access to Higher and Modern Education-Scholarship Program, the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education’s Higher Education Directorate said.

In his State of Education Address at the first BARMM Education Summit, MBHTE Minister Mohagher Iqbal gave emphasis to one of the 12-point priority agendas of the ministry which is “to produce at least one professional in every family.”

“We can achieve this goal through a responsive and relevant curriculum. Higher education infrastructure shall also provide the Bangsamoro youth the means to pursue job opportunities based on their interests,” Iqbal said.

He said that another scholarship program will be established — the Higher Education for Access Decommissioned Combatants: Opportunities for Resiliency and Empowerment – to help the decommissioned combatants or their next-of-kin.

Iqbal said that there are 135 higher education institutions, seven of which are being directly supervised by the MBHTE.

“For School Year 2020-2021, 9,084 students are enrolled in the seven schools. The number increased in the succeeding years: 10,256 enrollees in SY 2021-2022 and 10,689 for SY 2022-2023,” Iqbal said.

The official said that his ministry is keen on improving the higher education sector so students “can acquire a broad range of skills that can offer them more room for personal and professional advancement.”