By Philippine News Agency
MANILA -- The Department of Science and Technology - Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) on Thursday recognized more than 700 students from the National Capital Region during the 11th Youth Excellence in Science (YES) Awards at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.
These students won bronze, silver and gold medals from various international math and science competitions last year.
There were some 1,469 elementary and high school students who won in international contests in 2018. An awarding ceremony will be set by DOST regional offices for those who are in the provinces.
Every year, YES awardees receive the "Secretary's medal" during the awarding ceremony, to recognize their efforts and excellence in the field of math and science.
DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Peña graced the event and encouraged the awardees to continue pursuing excellence in this field, noting that the country needs them.
Dela Pena, along with DOST-attached agencies, have been encouraging students to pursue a career in science and technology.
SEI, for instance, sends speakers to schools across the country to talk about the DOST scholarships they could avail of.
In 2018, the DOST was able to provide scholarships to 36,772 students.
Dela Peña said he wants students to take advantage of the DOST's scholarship grants, and also hopes that more students would pursue masteral and doctorate in Science courses.
"We are more interested in the quality that we elicit among our students, as well as the values we taught them during training, during the competitions and after reaching the goal."
SEI Director Josette Biyo, meanwhile, echoed the DOST chief's remarks.
"We hope you can be our scholars and be with the (Filipino) people as you reach your dreams," she said.
The DOST chief has always expressed his goal of bringing science to the people, to the regions. Among the DOST's strategies include sending scientists to different regions to encourage and guide the teachers in doing case studies and research proposals.
DOST has also been urging schools to come up with researches, which the agency could help finance as long as they meet the criteria.