Only 19 graduating scholars of the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) System have accepted admission offers from leading and prestigious universities abroad, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has disclosed.
DOST Secretary Fortunato “Boy” T. de la Peña said a total of 81 PSHS graduates got offers of admission from 90 prestigious universities abroad, but only 19 or 23 percent gave in to such offers.
"A total of 81 graduates got admission from 90 prestigious universities abroad mostly with full scholarships, and 19 of them accepting the offer,” he said in a Facebook post on Friday night, June 4.
Last week, de la Peña, chairperson of the PSHS System Board of Trustees, said a total of 1,330 Grade 12 students from the PSHS are graduating for School Year (SY) 2020-2021. The number of graduating students is 98.08 percent of the 1,356 Grade 12 students in the 14 campuses of the PSHS System.
Related story: https://mb.com.ph/2021/05/29/1330-pisay-scholars-graduating-this-school-year-dost/
De la Peña shared how he found joy in signing all the diplomas of the PSHS’s graduating students.
"No matter how many the diplomas are and how time-consuming they can be, I have always enjoyed signing them personally. It feels good to know that my simple handwriting will forever be part of these papers that contribute significantly to the launching of promising careers in science and technology,” he said.
"Each student will receive a copy of diploma in English and Filipino, as has been the practice in the PSHS.”
He cited that Robert Nelson Leung of PSHS-Cordillera Administrative Region Campus received the highest general weighted average (GWA) at 1.03 from a grading system where 1.00 is the highest.
"A total of 49.55 percent of the graduates graduated with honors, one of the highest percentage of honor graduates in Pisay's history,” the DOST chief said.
Pisay's Class 2021 is the second graduating class to graduate in virtual ceremonies, de la Peña noted.
"This is also the batch that did not meet face-to-face for the entire school year,” he said.
"Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, this PSHS Class of 2021 made it with flying colors. Once again, congratulations!”