Expansion of Science High School system

One good thing deserves another. And another, if we may add, to make it 24 all in all.

We’re talking about the further expansion of the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) system (or ‘Pisay’) to cover other areas in the country.

House Bill 9726 or the proposed Expanded Philippine Science High School System Act was recently approved on third and final reading with 215 lawmakers voting in its favor, with none voting against it or abstaining.

Under the bill, the 16 existing PSHS will be increased by eight more: First District of Aklan; Daraga, Albay; Ubay, Bohol; Laoag City, Ilocos Norte; Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur; Third District, Cagayan; General Santos City, South Cotabato; and Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.

The proposed law aims to ensure that students with high aptitude or gifted in science and mathematics are given equal scholarship opportunities to enroll in the PSHS System.

It will also increase the number of high school graduates who will pursue undergraduate courses to conduct research and prepare scholars for careers in Science and Technology (S & T) and become leaders in the field of STEM.

According to Speaker Martin Romualdez, the proposed law is necessary as it would ensure that the country has an available world-class education system especially in the field of science and technology: “Our Philippine Science High School System 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.”

With the expanded number of PSHS campuses per region, the government would make world-class education even more accessible to more deserving Filipino students.

The bill will not only 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.

HB 9726 is a consolidation of several bills that seek to modernize the law which created the Philippine Science High School in the late 1960s. It was approved by the committee on ways and means in May 2023.

Since the first Pisay campus was established, the PSHS System has produced many graduates who have directly contributed to nation-building by using what they have learned in that educational institution not just in the sciences but also in other fields of endeavor.

It is therefore only fitting that it should now be expanded to cover other key areas in the country to allow other deserving youths to acquire world-class education.

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