The Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Science High School System (DOST-PSHS System) announces the results of the STAGE 2 screening of the Philippine Science High School – Requirements for Admission, Criteria, and Evaluation (PSHS-RACE), with 1,706 Grade 6 students as principal qualifiers in the country’s premier science high school.

Visit https://www.pshs.edu.ph/ to see list of official NCE-RACE STAGE II principal qualifiers.

Because of the threats of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PSHS System implemented the RACE in lieu of the NCE where applicants of Pisay scholarship usually take an aptitude test composed of mathematics, science, language proficiency, and abstract reasoning. This alternative mode is Pisay’s way to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus among thousands of students who gather in testing sites nationwide.

Of the 1,706 principal qualifiers, 85 chose not to publish their names in line with the Data Privacy Act.

According to the PSHS Office of Admissions, more female students with 56.78 percent qualified than male students with 43.22 percent.

In terms of type of school, 51.11 percent came from public elementary school while 48.89 percent from private schools.

The screening process was composed of two stages: STAGE 1 determined the applicant’s predicted NCE grade (PNG), which is based on Grade 5 final grades in science and mathematics, while STAGE 2 was based on writing skills through a submission of essay and the applicant’s academic rank at the end of Grade 5.

The top 240 applicants are considered as principal qualifiers of the flagship PSHS-Main Campus in Diliman, Quezon City.

The top 90 or 120 applicants, depending on the quota of the PSHS campus, candidates in the regional ranking are principal qualifiers of the 15 regional campuses around the country.

Around the country, the PSHS System has 15 regional campuses located in San Ildefonso, Ilocos Sur; Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Irisan, Baguio City; Clark, Pampanga, Barangay Sampaga, Batangas City; Barangay Odiongan, Romblon; Goa, Camarines Sur; Jaro, Iloilo; Palo, Leyte; Argao, Cebu; Dipolog City, Zamboanga; Balo-i, Lanao del Norte; Mintal, Davao City; Koronadal City, South Cotabato; and Ampayon, Butuan City.

The Pisay Brand

Pisay is the nickname of PSHS. The PSHS System offers an education that is humanistic in spirit, global in perspective, and patriotic in orientation. It is based on a curriculum that emphasizes science and mathematics as well as the development of well-rounded individuals. 

Moreover, the PSHS System prepares its students for careers in Science and Technology and contributes to nation building by helping the country attain a critical mass of professionals and leaders in different fields.

PSHS scholars receive monthly allowances, rates vary based on socio-economic status of the scholar. Scholars also avail of free loan of textbooks and may stay at residence halls in the campus.  Priority is given to those living far from the campus.

PSHS Fast Facts

As a leading science high school in the Asia Pacific region, PSHS has shown leadership by providing specialized high school education for the Filipino youth. It has withstood the test of time for 57 years.

• Inspired by the Bronx High School of Science in New York City, Dr. Leopoldo V. Toralballa, professor of mathematics at the New York University, envisioned of the same quality and specialized education with a balanced science and humanities program that will nurture the highly talented Filipino high school students in the Philippines

• Endorsed by the American-Philippine Science Foundation and the Science Foundation of the Philippines, the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) was established by virtue of Republic Act (RA) 3661, also known as the PSHS Charter, and was signed into law on June 22, 1963 by President Diosdado Macapagal

• Established under Republic Act No. 8496, the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) System is an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)

• PSHS students are expected by law to take a science, technology, mathematics, and engineering (STEM) college course upon entering college

• Since 1969, PSHS has 21,390 graduates

• Anchored on dynamism and relevance, the PSHS System Board of Trustees which serves as the highest policy-making body is composed of representatives from sectors such as the education for the gifted, agriculture, new and emerging technology, higher education, and industry; this kind of diverse leadership composition maintains the institutions ability for a broad base of experience and perspective to drive innovation

• The DOST secretary acts as the chair of the PSHS System Board of Trustees

• Aside from receiving a globally-competitive education, specialized in STEM, a PSHS scholar is immersed in special programs such as Science Immersion Program (scholars experience working in the real-world such as in science and technology (S&T) institutions and industries, here and abroad), and Service, Creativity, Action, and Leadership Enhancement (SCALE) Program in which scholars are engaged in non-STEM fields to develop them into well-rounded individuals and to balance/complement the intensive STEM curriculum

• Currently, Lilia T. Habacon serves as PSHS System Executive Director

• Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the PSHS System had conducted its National Competitive Examination (NCE) across the country to screen aspiring Pisay scholars

• In response to the country’s transition to the K-12 education system in 2012, the PISAY curriculum was revised and divided into three programs: the Foundation Years (Grades 7 and 8), the Advancement Years (Grades 9 and 10), and the Specialization Years (Grades 11 and 12)

• For School Year 2020-2021, the PSHS System has 9,319 students in its 16 campuses

• Because of the effective implementation of its curriculum reflected on student performance and achievements, the PSHS System was awarded as Grand Winner in the 2020 Queensland University of Technology Impact Story

• From 2018-2019, the Pisay has secured intellectual property rights composed of 78 patents, inventions, industrial designs, copyrights, utility models, and processes; 57 other intellectual property rights ongoing applications on process to this date

• In March 2020, the PSHS System migrated to remote education to ensure the continuity of learning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic; as the pandemic mode of education delivery, remote learning defined new roles and expectations for teachers to effectively steer and support students’ learning in the Covid-19 pandemic through synchronous and asynchronous instruction and self-directed learning

• The PSHS System’s learning management system is called Pisay Knowledge Hub or KHub that provides an opportunity for students and teachers to remain connected and engaged with instructional content while studying and working from their homes

• PisAYUDA: Siyensiya para sa Bayan is the PSHS System’s national outreach program that aimed to help protect medical, police, and military frontliners against COVID-19 by giving personal protective equipment (PPE) produced by using 3D printers and laser cutters in the campuses; PisAYUDA also provided relief goods and financial assistance to the needy Filipinos during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Giving pride and honor for the Philippines, PSHS students brought home 198 awards in international physics, biology, chemistry, robotics, mathematics, and information technology competitions and research fairs worldwide from 2018-2020

• 62 students qualified in 90 prestigious universities in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan, United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Russia, Canada, and China, among others from 2019-2020

• The PSHS System – Office of the Executive Director and all 16 PSHS campuses are ISO 9001:2015 certified quality management system

Notable PSHS Alumni

Pisay is a second home to alumni who have taken space in various fields. They have shown leadership that emanates from the PSHS core values: passion for excellence, pursuit of truth, and commitment to service. 

• Reynaldo B. Vea, Ph.D. (Batch 1969): President, Mapua Institute of Technology and former Dean, UP College of Engineering

• Adolfo Jesus R. Gopez, Ph.D.  (Batch 1973): President, FEATI University; awarded Outstanding Metallurgical of 1995 by the Philippine Regulatory Commission and the Philippine Technological Council

• Jose Dalisay Jr. (Batch 1971): editor, book author, and multi-Palanca awardee writer

• Sylvia Sta. Ines-Tsao, PhD (Batch 1974): owner of three US patents on silicon insulator and advanced microelectric materials

• Jesus Noel S. Villasenor, PhD (Batch 1980: Space Plasma Physicist, member of the Scientific Team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Space Research

• Cielito Habito (Batch 1970): Former Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority

• Vicky Tauli-Corpuz: (Batch 1971-A): Indigenous People’s Rights advocate; Chair, United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

• Carlos Antonio Berba (Batch 1981): Chairman and Director, San Miguel Brewing International

• Soliman M. Santos, Jr. (Batch 1970): Peace advocate and lawyer

• Rowena Cristina Guevara, Ph.D. (Batch 1980): first woman Dean of the UP College of Engineering

• Edsel Maurice Salvana (Batch 1992): Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at UP-National Institutes of Health (NIH), heavily involved in training doctors to treat HIV, raising awareness, and successfully lobbying the policymakers to declare an AIDS pandemic

• Reinabelle Reyes, Ph.D. (Batch 2001): Filipina astrophysicist, educator, and public speaker

• Atom Araullo (Batch 2000): journalist and GMA 7 newscaster

Through the efficient implementation of its specialized STEM curriculum, delivery of instruction, and leadership practices, the PSHS System has established itself as the premier science high school in the Philippines. With high hopes, the PSHS System counts on its students to contribute positive impact towards a better Philippines through science, technology, and innovation.

About the Author

Aries Oliveros has written textbooks on grammar and creative nonfiction and is currently an executive assistant at the Office of the Executive Director of the Philippine Science High School System – Office of the Executive Director.

He was formerly Chief of the Curriculum and Instruction Division and adviser of the school paper The Central Scholar. He studied Bachelor of Secondary Education, Major in English at Philippine Normal University, Manila.