Department of Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. has emphasized the need for more Philippine Science High School (PSHS) campuses to nurture the “bright” ideas of Filipino students.

According to Republic Act 9036, there should be one PSHS in every region of the country. However, with the country’s rapidly growing population, these existing campuses cannot accommodate all aspiring applicants.

“What we need is to nurture those very bright ideas and convert them into solutions,” Solidum said during the department’s budget hearing last week.

To achieve this, Solidum called for increased funding to build more PSHS campuses nationwide.

This move, he added, would benefit aspiring engineers and scientists by providing them with the necessary education and guidance.

Solidum also highlighted the need for a collaborative approach among government agencies to address the broader science education crisis. Factors such as malnutrition, health conditions and the use of schools as evacuation centers can disrupt students’ learning.

The Philippines’ performance in the 2023 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) assessment for 15-year-old students was ranked 77 out of 81 countries in reading, mathematics and science.

The average science score for Filipino students was 356 points, significantly lower than the OECD average of 485 points.