Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian (File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
MANILA, Philippines — At least one public math and science high school must be established in all provinces in the Philippines to address the “stagnation” of Filipino learners’ mathematical and scientific literacy as revealed by an international study, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said on Saturday.
Gatchalian said his proposal as contained in Senate Bill No. 476, or the Equitable Access to Math and Science Education Act, aims to set up at least one public math and science high school in each province.
Gatchalian reiterated his proposal following the release of the results of the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment wherein Filipino students ranked 76th out of 81 countries in Mathematics.
The average Mathematics score in the Philippines was 355, a far cry from the overall average score of 472 derived by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which conducted the study.
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Filipino students also ranked 79th out of 81 in Science, with an average is 356 while the OECD average is 485, Gatchalian said.