Question & AnswerQ&A (CSC MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 26, S. 1996)
The Local Scholarship Program (LSP) is a program open to all government employees in the Philippines who want to pursue a one-year masteral degree and who meet the selection criteria established by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) for the purpose.
Employees eligible must have a bachelor's degree from a reputable college or university, hold permanent appointment status, have at least two years of government work experience, obtained satisfactory performance ratings for the last two rating periods, not be more than 45 years old, be in good health, have no pending administrative cases, not have earned a masteral degree, and must not have availed of any foreign or local government scholarship in the past two years before the school year to study.
Yes, an employee who has earned masteral units but not completed a degree may apply to complete the original masteral course or pursue another course through the LSP grant.
Applicants must obtain application forms from CSC Regional/Provincial/Field Offices, submit accomplished forms only to those offices (not the Central Office), and applications are accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. There is no application fee.
The candidate will be awarded a scholarship grant to pursue their masteral degree under the program.
A scholar who accepts a temporary appointment before or after enrollment or who is charged with an administrative offense (except light offenses before enrollment) is automatically disqualified. If found guilty and dismissed, they must refund expenses and salary received during study.
The scholar must choose a field of study relevant to their agency, sign a scholarship contract, and complete all academic requirements for the masteral degree within one year.
The CSC evaluates candidate qualifications, administers examinations, ranks candidates for interviews, pays tuition and relevant school fees up to a maximum of P22,500, releases book and thesis allowances, and monitors the scholar’s course completion.
If the scholar cannot study on official time or decides not to avail of the scholarship, they forfeit the grant privilege, which cannot be deferred to another school year except for a possible extension of up to six months under special circumstances.
The scholar must serve their agency for at least two years for every year or portion of the scholarship exceeding six months.
The agency head may authorize the scholar to study on official time, relieve them of duties during the grant period, continue paying salary and benefits, and shoulder allowable expenses such as transportation and relocation allowances.
The scholarship grant will be discontinued and the scholar must refund all expenses incurred by the CSC and remunerations received to their agency for the study period.
Yes, provided the scholar has completed at least 50% of the academic requirements and can finish the course within the prescribed period. Failure to complete will require refund of all study expenses.
They will be barred from participating in future LSP examinations and scholarship assessments.