Policy and program purpose
- The Act establishes a government program for educating Filipino students in the United States at the expense of the Government of the Philippine Islands (Section 1).
- The Act authorizes the Civil Governor, with required approvals, to select and appoint student-trainees and designate where they will study in the United States (Section 1 and Section 2).
Coverage, who may be selected
- Students must be students of the public schools and natives of the Philippine Islands (Section 1 and Section 2).
- Candidates must be of good moral character, sound physical condition, and must be not less than sixteen nor more than twenty-one years of age (Section 1).
- For “students at large” appointed for special instruction, students must be natives of the Philippine Islands, not more than twenty-five years of age, of good moral character, and in sound physical condition (Section 1).
- The program covers student education in the United States through assignments to a school, college, university, or other educational institution designated by the Civil Governor (Section 1).
Selection of exam candidates and eligibility
- In each school division of the Archipelago, examinations must be held on or before the thirty-first of March in each year hereafter to compile a list of students best qualified to receive and profit from education in the United States (Section 1).
- Examination candidates must be public school students, natives of the Philippine Islands, and must meet the character, health, and age requirements under the Act (Section 1).
- Division superintendents must make a full report of the examinations to the General Superintendent of Education (Section 1).
- The General Superintendent of Education must certify to the Civil Governor, through the Secretary of Public Instruction, those candidates who receive a percentage of not less than seventy-five in each subject of examination as eligible for appointment as Government students to be educated in the United States (Section 1).
- The Civil Governor may appoint from the certified list such number of students as may be prescribed by a resolution of the Commission, and each appointment must designate the specific educational institution in the United States where the student will study at government expense (Section 1).
“At large” selections for special instruction
- With the approval of the Commission, the Civil Governor may designate and appoint twenty-five students at large for special instruction in the United States not included in the certified list (Section 1).
- The “students at large” must be natives of the Philippine Islands, not more than twenty-five years of age, and meet the good moral character and sound physical condition requirements (Section 1).
Additional fiscal-year appointments (1904)
- The Civil Governor may, of his own motion, select and appoint one hundred students for the fiscal year nineteen hundred and four to be educated in the United States at government expense (Section 2).
- The Civil Governor may select these students with or without competitive examination, as he elects (Section 2).
- Of the one hundred students:
- Thirteen must be selected and appointed for instruction in agriculture and the useful mechanical arts and sciences (Section 2).
- Twelve must be selected for a course of special instruction approved by the Civil Governor, based on his election (Section 2).
- The students selected under Section 2 must meet the public school student and native requirements, plus good moral character, sound physical condition, and age between sixteen and twenty-one (Section 2).
- The Act allows an exception: the Civil Governor may select and appoint natives of the Philippine Islands meeting good moral character, sound physical condition, and not exceeding twenty-five years of age for a course of special instruction (Section 2).
Physical examination, oath, and student agreement
- After selection and before appointment, each student must undergo a thorough physical examination by a physician designated by the Civil Governor (Section 3).
- Appointment depends on the favorable report of the physician designated (Section 3).
- Each appointed student must:
- Take an oath of allegiance to the Government of the United States (Section 3).
- Sign an agreement that is approved by his parents or guardian if under twenty-one years of age (Section 3).
- The agreement requires the student to:
- Attend the designated educational institution for four years or for such time as prescribed in the appointment, unless sooner released (Section 3).
- Conform to the institution’s regulations, rules, and laws and to other regulations prescribed by the Department of Public Instruction (Section 3).
- Diligently pursue the established course of studies or the special course indicated by the Civil Governor (Section 3).
- Return to the Philippine Islands upon termination of studies under the Act and appointment terms (Section 3).
- The agreement further requires return and civil-service qualification:
- Within two months after return, the student must take a civil-service examination, competitive or noncompetitive at the discretion of the Civil Service Board, to qualify for a grade or office/position the student elects (Section 3).
- If certified and appointed to a civil service office or post at any time within one year after return, the student must accept appointment and faithfully perform duties for the salary fixed by competent authority for a period equal to the time spent in the United States at government expense, unless sooner separated by competent authority (Section 3).
Appointment and supervision of an agent
- The Civil Governor, by and with the approval of the Commission, may appoint a suitable agent to receive government students in the United States and arrange transportation and enrollment (Section 4).
- The agent must arrange for:
- Entrance into assigned institutions,
- Care, protection, and welfare of students while enrolled,
- Any other duties ordered by the General Superintendent of Education (Section 4).
- The agent is placed under the supervision of the Chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs at Washington (Section 4).
- The agent must submit quarterly reports of each student’s health, welfare, and progress to the Chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs and must also send duplicates to the General Superintendent of Education (Section 4).
- Compensation is limited to not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars per annum (money of the United States), plus necessary traveling expenses while performing duties under Section 4 (Section 4).
Government costs and student expenses
- The Act requires the Government of the Philippine Islands to pay the cost of education and maintenance of students in the United States at not exceeding five hundred dollars per student per annum (money of the United States) (Section 5).
- The Government must also pay:
- The students’ actual and necessary traveling expenses to the assigned educational institutions in the United States (Section 5),
- The students’ actual and necessary traveling expenses from the educational institution to Manila, Philippine Islands, upon completion of studies in conformity with the Act and the agreement (Section 5).
Appropriation and disbursement
- An appropriation is made, out of funds in the Insular Treasury not otherwise appropriated, of seventy-two thousand dollars (money of the United States), or so much thereof as may be necessary to carry out the Act (Section 6).
- Funds appropriated for purposes requiring expenditure in the United States must be disbursed by the Disbursing Officer of Insular Funds, Bureau of Insular Affairs, War Department, Washington, District of Columbia (Section 6).
- Disbursement must be made on vouchers properly signed and duly presented (Section 6).
Effectivity and final rule
- The Act takes effect on its passage (Section 7).