The Philippine Department of Education has decided to drop the “Science and Health” subject from Grade 1 and 2 classes to make learning “more enjoyable” and “child-friendly.” Education Secretary Armin Luistro said that the move to exclude Science at these grade levels does not mean that Science concepts will not be introduced to Grade 1 students at all.
“We will be integrating topics in other subjects to make the new curriculum more child-friendly,” he explained.The move has caused a furor across the scientific community, with many questioning why science is deemed to be a non-child-friendly subject.
According to DepEd, science, as a subject, will be introduced when they get to Grade 3; the Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan at Grade 4; and Technology and Livelihood Education at Grade 6.
Budget for science scholarships at P9.8 billion
In other news, the Aquino administration has earmarked an estimated P9.8 billion (US$231 million) in government scholarship programs for 2012.
Of this new budget, Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad said P6.28 billion will be used by the DepEd for its Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) program, which subsidizes the transfer of public high school students to private schools in a move to decongest severely crowded public schools.
Meanwhile, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has a P2.1-billion allocation, of which P1.3 billion will fund the DOST’s Science Education Institute to help over 10,000 scholars at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
The remaining P800 million from DOST will be given to the Philippine Science High School to support 4,334 scholars this year.
ASIANSCIENTIST