Category: Education

The Department of Science and Technology in Northern Mindanao (DOST-10) on Wednesday opened its Regional Science and Technology Week (RSTW) in Iligan City, providing a platform to promote innovative works in upgrading local businesses and disaster resilience efforts.Sancho Mabborang, DOST Undersecretary for Regional Operations, said during the opening program that many projects in the region may become “game changers” not only in Iligan City but also in different sectors and industries.”To our initiatives in science and technology and innovation (STI), we shall unify efforts towards regional development and wealth creation,” he said.Mabborang added that the region needs an upgrade of human capital to create locally competent STI champions to support the national agenda and usher the transformation of municipalities and cities into Smart and sustainable communities.The RSTW will be hosted by Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) from Oct. 11 to 13.Iligan City Mayor Frederick
Siao said the RSTW activity was the first under his administration that DOST-10 organized.”The synergy of science technology and innovation serves as a bedrock for building a collaborative and cohesive society,” he said.This year’s RSTW provides a venue for learning and collaboration through pitching sessions, innovation dialogues, quiz competitions, forums, technology demonstrations, and exhibits.The exhibits at the MSU-IIT consist of more than 25 technologies, and will also be launched and opened to the public.On Wednesday, organizers provided pitching sessions on technology adoption for entrepreneurs, dialogue on Philippine silk innovation, and research opportunity networks for the promotion of the local innovation ecosystem.Meanwhile, the second day will focus on forums on Futures Thinking and Food Safety in Plant-based Innovative Diets. There will also be a reverse pitching session to turn problems into innovations through industry-based projects.A science and technology quiz competition for elementary s
tudents and a technology demonstration on abaca and lampakanay fiber dyeing will also take place.A forum intended for the manufacturing sector and the creative industry will cap the last day of the event.

Source: Philippines News Agency

School children are the first to benefit as Cebu province was hailed anew as the wealthiest province in the country, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said on Wednesday.Garcia said the newest distinction earned by the province poses a bigger challenge to her administration, specifically on how they would translate the province’s total assets of PHP235.7 billion as recorded by the latest Commission on Audit (COA) findings, into actual benefits for the Cebuano constituency.Nevertheless, this recognition — being the wealthiest province in the country for nine consecutive years — will definitely benefit school children, she added.’No Cebuano child should go hungry while they are in school,’ she announced.The provincial government, she said, has long been planning to implement a province-wide feeding program in all public schools of Cebu, including those in the cities of Mandaue, Talisay, Carcar, Toledo, Naga, Danao, and Bogo.The program targets all Cebuano learners, regardless of their nutritional status.The govern
or also stressed that this is the kind of leadership she wanted to convey to her constituents – a kind that uplifts the lives of all Cebuanos and addresses the poverty incidence all throughout the island province.’We have implemented programs that helped Cebuanos help themselves,’ Garcia said, citing the province’s countryside food security program which is being implemented down to the village level.Through these anti-poverty projects, the capitol has been distributing financial assistance to micro and small-scale entrepreneurs who could present a viable business model and recognize participants who would excel in their endeavors.According to COA’s 2022 annual financial report, Cebu continues to maintain its lead among the 81 provinces, with its assets at PHP235.7 billion in 2022 or an increase of PHP20.43 billion from the previous year’s PHP215 billion.

Source: Philippines News Agency

A private college in General Santos City has offered scholarship grants to the dependents of police ‘force multipliers’ in the city to provide their children access to quality education.Brig. Gen. Jimili Macaraeg, police regional director for the Soccsksargen Region (PRO-12), and Dr. Christoffer Franz Mari Millado, president of Ramon Magsaysay Memorial College (RMMC), signed the memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the scholarship grant on Tuesday at the PRO-12 headquarters in General Santos City.Macaraeg said the MOA represents a ‘shared commitment to empower the community and uplift the lives of those residing in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAS) through the establishment of the scholar support program.’He noted that the ‘groundbreaking initiative’ aims to provide educational opportunities to members of ‘unified force multipliers’ and their underprivileged dependents.The unified force multipliers refer to organizations outside the government that perform voluntary public safety servic
es to support existing government public safety functions and programs of the Philippine National Police.Under the scholarship program, Milado said RMMC will offer full scholarships to eligible applicants, ensuring access to quality education.The scholarships, he said, intend to contribute to the recipients’ personal growth and development and enhance their employability prospects in the future.There are at least 800 force multipliers in General Santos City.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The Kitcharao Municipal Police Station (KMPS) in Agusan del Norte province has entered the classrooms to intensify its anti-illegal drugs campaign under the government’s Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan (BIDA) program.KMPS officers launched Tuesday the BIDA campaign in the classrooms of the Kitcharao National High School to raise awareness of the harmful effects of illegal drugs.’This information drive is part of the 28-day BIDA Social Media Campaign. We decided to bring the information dissemination to classrooms to make our campaign face-to-face with the students,’ Capt. Aurel Lumasag, the KMPMS officer-in-charge, said.The police officers conducted lectures on the effects of illegal drug use, especially the physical and mental harm it could bring to a person. They also urged the learners to focus on their studies and encouraged them to help the police promote the BIDA program on social media.A 16-year-old senior high student during a phone interview on Tuesday, thanked the Kitcharao police force for the in
tensified campaign against illegal drugs.’It is important to inform the students on the ill effects of illegal drugs,’ said a certain ‘Tristan’, a Grade 12 student, adding that he has noticed the government’s unrelenting campaign to eliminate the illegal drug problem in the country.Another student, ‘Perry’, 15, said he tries to help by encouraging his friends to conduct small sessions in their locality, especially during free time, to help the government disseminate information on illegal drugs.He also hopes that other police stations in the province would conduct an information drive on illegal drugs in classrooms.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Senator Jinggoy Estrada on Monday said he is supporting the passage of a bill exempting underprivileged but deserving graduating high school students from paying entrance examination fees to private universities and colleges.Estrada said Senate Bill No (SBN) 2441 or Free College Entrance Examinations Act filed by Senator Francis Escudero is very timely considering the increasing number of high school graduates in the country.”Ang pagdami ng bilang ng mga high school graduates ay marapat lamang na suportahan ng ating pamahalaan sa pamamagitan ng pagsisiguro ng patuloy na pag-aaral nila sa kolehiyo. Isang paraan upang makamit ito ay ang pagsasabatas ng (The government should support the increase in the number of high school graduates. One of the ways to achieve this is the passage into law of) ‘Free College Entrance Examinations Act,'” he said.Estrada, who co-authored and co-sponsored SBN 2441, said the country’s access to secondary education has achieved ‘a significant milestone’ based on the 2020 Philippi
ne Statistics Authority (PSA) census.The 2020 PSA census showed that 21 percent of Filipinos have attained at most a high school diploma, which is higher than the 19 percent recorded in 2010 and 13.5 percent in 2000.”Ang hindi pagbayad sa entrance exam fee lamang na nakapaloob sa panukalang ito ay malaking bagay na para sa mga mag-aaral natin, lalo na para sa kanila na nasa pribadong paaralan ang mga napupusuang kurso o para sa mga mag-aaral na ang pinakamalapit na paaralan sa kanilang tahanan ay pribadong institusyon,” (The non-payment of entrance exam fee, as indicated in this proposed bill, is a big help to our students, who want to study in private schools and pursue their chosen courses to private schools near their residence),’ Estrada said.SBN 2441 offers mutual benefits for both students and schools, as it broadens students’ options for colleges and universities to pursue their studies.It also opens the doors of private higher education institutions to high-achieving students who will undoubtedly cont
ribute to their reputation and performance.Under the bill’s provisions, eligible students must come from families whose parents live below the poverty line or belong to the poorest of the poor, as determined by the National Economic and Development Authority and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.The students must also belong to the top 10 percent of their graduating class, it added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

A male high school student was arrested Monday for allegedly attacking three teenage girls purportedly with the intent of sexually assaulting them.

The Suwon District Court issued an arrest warrant against the 16-year-old male suspect, whose identity was withheld, on charges of robbery, assault and attempted rape.

He is suspected of choking and attacking a teenage girl after breaking into a women’s restroom at a shopping center in the city of Hwaseong, south of Seoul, on Thursday.

The suspect allegedly used violence against another teenage girl inside an elevator in an apartment block in the adjacent city of Suwon on Friday, and assaulted a third teenage girl at another apartment building on the same day.

In its ruling, the court cited the suspect’s risk of flight despite his juvenile status under the criminal justice system.

The suspect’s motivation behind the serial assaults was not known, but he reportedly has a previous sex crime record. He was caught at a local internet cafe in Suwon on Saturday
.

Source: Yonhap News Agency