MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos wants the government to offer a scholarship program for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses to address the lack of talent for information and communication technology businesses.

During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Marcos said a scholarship program should be set up to encourage more students to pursue STEM courses.

The President ordered Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan John Uy to coordinate with industry players to determine their specific needs and address jobs mismatch, which, he said, is important to enable the government and the industry to make necessary adjustments.

Citing the industry’s observations, Uy said during the meeting that many IT graduates do not have the right tools and training required by the ICT industry.

Uy also noted the shortfall of students taking up STEM courses.

Marcos has since expressed commitment to fixing the gap in research and development in STEM, saying the Philippines has “a lot to catch up” in the STEM fields.

Experts said the Philippines needs to invest in addressing these issues to have a strong STEM community to make the country competitive.

They say investing in STEM can boost the country economically, politically, and educationally. (OPS)