Angara pushes for more accessible, more science
and technology-oriented education in RP

In celebration of the International Youth day, Senator Edgardo Angara emphasized the need to upgrade the level of education in the county and to make it more accessible to poor students.

"We need to be more responsive to the needs of the students and the schools," said Senator Angara.

Author of the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act, Senator Angara wants the expansion of the law's coverage through the Expanded-GASTPE. This bill aims to increase the amount of assistance to students-grantees through an improved voucher support system provided to secondary and tertiary students whose incomes are below the poverty line and cannot be accommodated by public institutions.

The passage of GATSPE in 1998 gave many opportunities to poor students who otherwise cannot afford to study in private school.

Aside from providing more opportunities to poor students through the Expanded GASTPE, Senator Angara wants to upgrade the quality of education in the country, particularly in the fields of science and technology.

Senator Angara, who is also Chair of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, has created the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering (COMSTE).

"Our goal is to uplift the living standards of Filipinos through technological innovation. Our people's natural creativity and inventiveness are all there for the tapping," Senator Angara said.

Through COMSTE, the educational system will be reviewed to encourage interest on science and technology among students. The COMSTE will provide the master plan to promote research and development, and develop the growth of science and technology.

In connection with the creation of COMSTE, Senator Angara has filed a bill creating the CLEET. The center will direct the collective resources of government and the private sector into a national force for innovation in education. CLEET will train educators, trainers and practitioners from across the nation to influence the use and content of educational technology.

"We need to modernize the [educational] system and use educational technology for more effective teaching and learning," said Senator Angara.

"The goal is to assemble a high- technology facility for accessing leading-edge hardware, software and materials and a core of leadership to determine these priorities and to bring technology to raise educational standards," Angara added.