MORE S&T SCHOLARS TO BOOST NATIONAL S&T CAPACITY - ANGARA

Senator Edgardo J. Angara lauded the huge increase in the government's Science and Technology (S&T) scholars for the coming school year, reiterating that improving the country's S&T capacity should be prioritized.

"This large number of incoming science students is very heartening. It shows growing interest of these bright young minds towards the fields that we are trying so hard to develop," said Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) recently announced the qualification of 3,400 high school graduates for their Science and Technology Scholarship Program for Academic Year 2012-2013. Aside from free tuition for science-based courses, these incoming college freshmen would be entitled to a monthly stipend in addition to book and travel allowances, plus group insurance.

According to the DOST, their 2012 scholarship program is handling more than thrice the number of students of last year--only 1,000 students were accepted in the Academic Year 2011-2012. More municipalities are also represented by this year's batch of scholars: from 400 in 2011 to more than 1,000 in 2012.

Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, asserted the importance of developing a critical pool of young scientists with excellent mastery in their respective disciplines.

"The improvement of the S&T curriculums in our colleges, as well as the continued training of our scientists will take us a step closer to our goal of enhanced national S&T capacity, and ultimately greater economic development," he said.

The veteran legislator, known for being an advocate for quality education, authored laws such as the Free High School Act and the law creating the Commission on Higher Education. As head of the Senate Education Committee, he is also part of the Board of Directors or Board of Trustees of state universities and colleges (SUCs) throughout the country.