SENATOR Edgardo Angara is worried about the decline in the number of high school students pursuing science and engineering courses which may affect the country’s pool of science and technology professionals.

He encouraged high school students to apply for scholarships with the Department of Science and Technology.

Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, made the statement after the DoST’s Science Education Institute has set the nationwide deadline for applications for the scholarships on October 21.

Angara cited a report from the Commission on Higher Education which showed that between 2005 and 2009, graduates in the natural sciences, mathematics, engineering, agricultural, forestry, fisheries, and IT-related courses combined only averaged 24 percent of total tertiary level graduates.

“Less and less of our youth are preparing themselves for careers in sciences and engineering. This factor immensely into why our competitiveness is stagnating. We need to convince more of our children to aim for scholarships—just like those from the DOST—and leverage these to get into high-value S&T careers,” Angara said.

“That way, we attain the critical mass of designers, thinkers, builders and innovators who will enable us to leapfrog our economic development,” said Angara, also the chair of the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering .

He added: “The future of our country lies in cultivating our skills and talents in S&T. Our S&T capacity has been deteriorating for too long and at too great a social cost. I hope this school year’s high school seniors will capitalize on these opportunities and help build a technology-driven future for the country.”