The establishment of the Philippine Science High School Negros Island Region Campus (PSHS-NIRC) is seen to spur another growth area in Bacolod City, with preparations underway for its opening in school year 2027-2028.
Barangay Granada in the eastern part of Bacolod has been identified as the site of the PSHS-NIRC earlier this month.
“Groundbreaking will be in November as scheduled,” Secretary to the Mayor Jose Marty Go said Monday, Sept. 1.
Mayor Greg Gasataya received a letter dated Aug. 4 and was formally informed by Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-PSHS System Executive Director Ronnalee Orteza on Aug. 5 that Bacolod City has been selected to host the newest PSHS campus.
Spanning almost 10 hectares, the PSHS-NIRC will become the PSHS System’s largest campus in terms of land area.
“This is a breakthrough; not all urban centers or provinces have a PSHS campus. This will trigger the growth in one area here in Bacolod,” Gasataya said in a statement.
In a separate statement, the DOST-PSHS System said Bacolod City was chosen as the site of the PSHS-NIRC after a comprehensive, year-long selection and evaluation process that included multiple proposed locations across the region.*
Once established, the PSHS-NIRC will become the first PSHS campus for the region, broadening access to premier science, technology, engineering and mathematics education for academically gifted students from Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Siquijor and nearby provinces.
The PSHS-NIRC, designed to accommodate up to 720 students, is expected to admit its first batch of 120 Grade 7 students in School Year 2027-2028.
“This will complete our 17 campuses all over the country based on the law. This will be the biggest campus so far – bigger than our seven-hectare main campus in Quezon City – and we want to start things right,” Orteza earlier said.
The DOST-PSHS System is conducting a school-to-school information campaign to encourage qualified Grade 6 pupils in Negros Island Region to apply for the PSHS National Competitive Examination on Jan. 30, 2027.
Enrolled students will receive full government scholarships covering free tuition, textbooks, monthly stipends and other educational benefits.*PNA
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