Senate bill seeks to introduce ‘robotics’ in high school

By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net


MANILA, Philippines -- As young Filipinos continue to reap honors in robotics around the world, Senate President Manuel Villar has filed Senate Bill 1579 seeking to introduce robotics into the high school curriculum.

The bill also provides for the appropriation of P100 million to support the incorporation of the subject in physics and other science subjects. The money is for designing the course, teacher training, and development of tools and instructional materials.

“The Philippines has been silently reaping laurels in science and technology,” the Senate president said.

He cited Kim Marco Perez, Dann Joseph Garcia, and Francisco Gabriel Nuñez of the First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities who bagged the gold medal in the Open Category of the World Robotics Olympiad in Nanning, China last year.

Villar also praised the Filipino students who won in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair last year.

In the explanatory note on the bill, he underscored the important role of science and technology in attaining progress.

“Science and technology has undeniably become one of the most significant tools in economic growth and a defining source of competitive advantage,” he said.

“Robots shall be utilized as technology tools that will allow students to perform experimental applications in designing, building and testing gadgets for instructional purposes,” according to the proposed measure.

Under the bill, the Philippine Science High School and other selected high schools under the Department of Education shall be the first to be introduced to the implementation of robotics application.