Philippine senator tells UPCAT passers to join in nation-building

MANILA, January 5, 2011 (PNA)—Senator Edgardo Angara on Tuesday challenged the new University of the Philippines system scholars to take part in nation-building.

"They must not waste this opportunity to learn from some of the country’s finest educators," Angara, a former UP president, said.

Around 13,000 graduating high school students recently made it into the UP System for Academic year 2011-2012 after taking the notoriously difficult UPCAT last August, earning them entry into one of the 12 UP campuses around the country.

The results of the UPCAT (University of the Philippines College Admission Test) were released on Monday.

“These bright young minds deserve this chance to get good education. This is why we are working hard to improve the academic programs and facilities not just for UP, but for all the state-funded colleges and universities” said Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture.

According to Angara, students of state-run universities are in a unique position to help the nation.

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Students read books not matched to their reading level, study reveals

MANILA, December 16, 2010—Reading is the foundation of academic success and lifelong learning, but the brutal fact remains that a majority of Filipino students do not possess the ability and motivation to read. In 2007, the Department of Education reported that 70% of our nation’s learners are incapable of reading within the expected level.

This is the situation of reading achievement in the Philippines as evaluated by Scholastic Inc., the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books. For the past four years, Scholastic-Philippines has been emerging as a leader in educational technology and literacy education as it has been working to address the mismatch between readers’ ability and the level of reading materials students are required to read.

Scholastic’s Assessment and Enrichment Program for Reading (AEP-Reading), a supplemental reading program that aims to change the paradigm across the academic community, is now being used by 40 schools in the Philippines. The program helps schools enable readers and develop their love for reading.

Frank Wong, president of Scholastic Asia, reveals that Scholastic has been helping children around the world for 90 years now. “Reading is such a fundamental skill, and if you can get the kids to enjoy reading, the battle is half won,” he states. “Our Philippine office has achieved much success in this reading program, and now more Filipino students are reading better than they did before.”

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Mapua students bag gold at architecture competition in China

MANILA, December 2, 2010—Students from the graduating class of Mapua Institute of Technology’s School of Architecture, Industrial Design and the Built Environment (ARIDBE) bagged the gold award at the International Competition for Sustainable Architecture and Design (ICSAD) last September. Participating were 20 schools and universities from across the globe, with two entries coming from MIT.

Geared toward housing problem of the urban poor, ICSAD encourages a creative and multi-disciplinary approach in designing sustainable city development of the future. The competition called for entries for pro-poor and eco-efficient housing solutions using local materials and vernacular traditions in a modern context.

Rio Cielo F. Velasco, the representative of the team “Fusion”, presented the design solution to the panel of judges during the final leg of the competition and later received the award. Angeli-Kathryn Jalla, the representative of another team finalist under Archt. Albert S. Zambrano, likewise received their certificates as finalists.

The winning team, together with adviser architect Junar P. Tablan, received a one-week free accommodation at an environmentally friendly resort in Palawan, the chance to be involved in the design of the Zero Carbon Cottage for the EU co-funded “Zero Carbon Resorts” project, and publication of the entry in the journal Architect in Japan.

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25,000 Bihar students to participate in English Olympiad

PATNA, December 29, 2010—As many as 25,000 school students from Bihar belonging to Standard II to X are expected to participate in International English Olympiad (IEO) being organized jointly by `The English and Foreign Language University (EFAL)', Hyderabad, and Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF).

According to SOF state coordinator Vishal Daftuar, while the one-hour joint test would be held on January 29 in the state, the last date for registration to participate in IEO has been extended, and the full details could be had from the mobile number 9973119416.

He said that 25,000 students belonging to 200 schools would be participating in the IEO. Of them, 6,500 students would be from the schools at Patna alone, Daftuar added.

The SOF has collaborated with EFAL, Hyderabad, which is the only internationally known institution and university for English language in the country. The one-hour examination would have questions aimed at testing students' knowledge in word structure, reading and spoken as well as written expressions, Daftuar said, adding that the All India English Language Testing Authority ( AIELTA) would frame the questions.

All the participating students would get Participation Certificate and their respective English Quotient reports, while 500 most successful students at the international level, each from every class from Standard II to X, number 4,500 in all, would also be honoured.

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