Philippine Science High School System

Philippine Science High School
Information
Type Public specialized high school
Established 1964
Executive Director Dr. Larry L. Cabatic (effective September 1, 2014)
Grades 7 to 12
Number of students 2,822 (school year 2004-2005)
Campus Diliman, Quezon City (Main Campus)
San Ildefonso, Ilocos Sur (Ilocos Region)
Bayombong (Cagayan Valley)
Baguio (Cordillera Administrative Region)
Clark Freeport Zone (Central Luzon)
Batangas City (CALABARZON)
Odiongan, Romblon (MIMAROPA)
Goa, Camarines Sur (Bicol Region)
Iloilo City (Western Visayas)
Argao, Cebu (Central Visayas)
Palo, Leyte (Eastern Visayas)
Dipolog (Zamboanga Peninsula)
Baloi, Lanao del Norte (Central Mindanao)
Davao City (Southern Mindanao)
Koronadal (SOCCSKSARGEN)
Butuan (Caraga)
Affiliation Department of Science and Technology
Website www.pshs.edu.ph

The Philippine Science High School System is a specialized public high school system in the Philippines that operates as an attached agency of the Philippine Department of Science and Technology. They are considered as the top high schools in the Philippines and viewed to be among the best in the ASEAN region by 2016.[1]

The PSHS System offers scholarships to Filipino students who are gifted in the sciences and mathematics. Admission to the PSHS is by competitive examination, and only Filipino citizens are eligible to attend. Graduates of the PSHS are bound by law to major in the pure and applied sciences, mathematics, or engineering on entering college. The system is known to have a very challenging curriculum which produces the best professionals in the country.

PSHS is known for its active participation in national and international science, technology, and mathematics competitions such as Sipnayan, Kapnayan, MATHirang MATHibay, Metrobank-MTAP-DepEd Math Challenge, Philippine Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry Olympiads, Australian Mathematics Competition and Australian Chemistry Quiz. Through private funding, students successfully reap awards in international competitions such as the Taiwan International Science and Engineering Fair, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, International Math Olympiad, International Junior Science Olympiad, and International Physics Olympiad.

A movie was released in 2007 in honor of Philippine science highs. Pisay got national[2] and international recognition as it was sent to the Toronto International Film Festival. Pisay was directed by an alumnus of the school, Auraeus Solito, and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film at the 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

Campuses and system organization

Campuses

For 24 years, the PSHS was a single campus on Agham Road, Diliman, Quezon City where the top 240 examinees in the National Competitive Examination held yearly were accepted as government scholars. All campuses have at most 30 students in each class. However, regional campuses only have three classes in contrast to the main campus which has eight classes per batch. Currently, PSHS has 12 regional campuses in addition to the main campus.

PSHS Main Campus
Campus Location Date Founded Campus Director
Main Campus Agham Road, Diliman, Quezon City 1964 Virginia P. Andres
Southern Mindanao Campus Davao City, Davao del Sur July 1988 Delia C. Legaspino
Western Visayas Campus Jaro, Iloilo City July 1, 1992 Dr. Shena Faith M. Ganela
Eastern Visayas Campus Palo, Leyte July 4, 1994 Dr. Reynaldo B. Garnace
Cagayan Valley Campus Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya June 1998 Dr. Salvador Romo
Central Mindanao Campus Nangka, Baloi, Lanao del Norte July 1998 Engr. Lorvi B. Pagorogon
Bicol Region Campus Goa, Camarines Sur July 1998 Elsie G. Ferrer, MA
Ilocos Region Campus San Ildefonso, Ilocos Sur February 6, 2001 Dr. Ronnalee N. Orteza
Central Visayas Campus Talaytay, Argao, Cebu May 19, 2005[3] Dr. Warren Cordeta
Cordillera Administrative Region Campus Baguio, Benguet June 22, 2009[4] Dr. Conrado C. Rotor Jr.
Central Luzon Campus Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga June 28, 2009[4] Lilia Habacon
SOCCSKSARGEN Region Campus Paraiso, Koronadal, South Cotabato February 3, 2012 (Founded)
June 17, 2013 (Opened)[5]		 Dr. Chuchi P. Garganera
Caraga Region Campus Ampayon, Butuan, Agusan del Norte 2014 Ruwina S. Gonzaga
CALABARZON Region Campus Sampaga, Batangas City 2015 Dr. Jose M. Andaya
MIMAROPA Campus Odiongan, Romblon To be established To be announced
Zamboanga Peninsula Campus Cogon, Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte To be established To be announced

System organization

The Board of Trustees (BOT) is the highest policy making body of the PSHS System. The Executive Committee (ExeCom), composed of the directors of different PSHS campuses, is a collegial body that recommends policies and guidelines for the consideration of the BOT. The Executive Committee is chaired by the Executive Director, who coordinates the implementation of these policies and guidelines.[6] PSHS campuses are headed by directors who are members of the ExeCom.

History

The Philippine Science High School was established through Republic Act 3661, authored by Congressman Virgilio Afable, and signed into law in 1963 by President Diosdado Macapagal. This charter mandates the PSHS “to offer on a free scholarship basis a secondary course with emphasis on subjects pertaining to service with the end in view of preparing its students for a science career”. The school started operations in 1964.[7]

National scientist Dr. Gregorio Velasquez led the PSHS through its first three years. The campus started in a small rented GSIS-owned property along the Quezon Memorial Circle. In 1970 PSHS started building on a 75,000 square metre lot along Agham Road in Diliman, Quezon City.

By the end of the 1980s, PSHS started to spread across the nation. The first regional campuses were built, starting with the Mindanao Campus (now Southern Mindanao Campus), in Davao City, in 1988.

The PSHS System Law (R.A. 8496) was signed by President Fidel V. Ramos in 1997 that established the PSHS System and unified all the existing campuses into a single system of governance and management. Thus, the PSHS continues fulfilling its mandate “to offer, on a free scholarship basis, a secondary course with special emphasis on subjects pertaining to the sciences, with the end view of preparing its students for a science career”.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ A 'Pisay' for changing times, Rappler
  2. ↑ Cinemalaya Archives 2007 Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ Arroyo inaugurates Philippine Science High School in Cebu, Inquirer.net Archived May 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. 1 2 PSHS opens two new campuses, Philippine Star
  5. ↑ PSHS-SRC opens for the pioneer batch
  6. ↑ System Organization Archived March 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ The History of PSHS System Archived March 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ The Five P's: PSHS Recognition Convocation Speech 2008 Archived March 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
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