Doing research will now be easier for thousands of students in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) as the government provides Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly Operated Kiosk Station (STARBOOKS to a number of schools in the region, a report on the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) website said.
STARBOOKS, dubbed as the “library in a box,” is the latest project of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). It is a stand-alone research kiosk and a system designed to cater to students who do in-depth research on science and technology resources.
At present, only the ARMM government provides STARBOOKS to the different schools in the region for free, Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-ARMM Secretary Myra Alih said.
“What makes the STARBOOKS unique and more useful is that people can access data needed even without internet connection,” Alih said.
Racma Maniri Pimping National High School in Marawi City was the first recipient school of the project in the region.
Then on June 20, the Department of Education and DOST-ARMM turned over a similar package of the science digital library to the ARMM Regional Science High School (RSHS) in Parang, Maguindanao.
“We are very glad that our school is one of the recipients of this science digital library, now we know we can compete with confidence with other schools in the country,” said Mike Castillon, a Grade 9 student at the ARMM RSHS.
Myrna Lidasan, the school’s principal, also thanked the ARMM government for the help. “Now we really feel the presence of the ARMM government. We know this will bring more opportunities to our students and help them learn easier and faster.”
Meanwhile, ARMM Education Secretary Jamar Kulayan said they, together with the Basic Education Assistance for Muslim Mindanao (BEAM), plan to turn over a laboratory for physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics to the school within the month.
The ARMM RSHS is dubbed as the center for excellence in science and mathematics in the region and is the only school in ARMM that provides a subject on robotics.
