THE House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill expanding the scope and operations of the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) campuses from one campus to two per region, but limited to one PSHS per province, in a bid to strengthen PSHS’ leadership role in secondary Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education.
With an overwhelming 215 votes during its plenary session, the chamber approved on third and final reading House Bill (HB) No. 9726 or the proposed “Expanded Philippine Science High School System Act.”
“Our Philippine Science High School System (PSHS) campuses offer secondary courses with special emphasis on STEM students with high aptitude or who are gifted in science and mathematics on a free scholarship basis,” Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said. “Through this bill, we aim to expand the number of PSHS campuses per region, making world-class education even more accessible to more deserving Filipino students across the country.”
“The bill will not just improve the management of PSHS but also accommodate more government scholars, and increase the access to quality, free and globally competitive education for the country’s science, technology and innovation manpower,” Speaker Romualdez, the leader of the 300-plus strong House of Representatives, added.
Some of the principal authors of the bill are
Reps. Carlito Marquez, Joey Sarte Salceda, Zaldy Co, Fedinand Alexander Marcos, Divina Grace Yu, and others.
The proposed law empowers the PSHS Board of Trustees in the development of policies, guidelines and criteria necessary to maintain the quality and uniform educational standard in all PSHS Campuses.
The bill also formulates the coverage, criteria, place of study and other guidelines for applicants of the science and technology scholarship program. Section 18 of HB 9726 also provides that income generated from school fees collected by the PSHS campuses will be reported and deposited to an authorized government depository bank as a trust fund of the PSHS System to be used for its priority programs and activities.
