Angara pushes bill for school chairs designed for left-handed students

Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara has filed a bill seeking to require all schools to provide classroom chairs specially designed for left-handed students, according to a press release on Saturday.

By requiring educational institutions nationwide to provide left-handed chairs for left-handed students, Senate Bill No. 2114 aims to promote equal development of students.

"Currently, left-handed students are left without a choice but to work with right-handed armchairs," Angara said.

According to Angara, studies showed that the usual school chair does not offer left-handed students the same arm support that right-handed students enjoy, which results in discomfort and even physical pain for lefty students.

"The inefficient and awkward writing position that left-handed students must adopt in right-handed armchairs causes slower handwriting, placing them at a disadvantage on important timed examinations," Angara said.

Experts said thousands of left-handed school children are struggling in the classroom because of a failure to meet their needs.

Between 10 to 15 percent of the population worldwide are left-handed, experts said.

Due to the inconvenience of left-handed students, they tend to underperform in subjects such as English, science, computing, cookery and design technology, a study claimed.

Angara said that the government should address the plight of the left-handed students and pass the bill into law to oblige all educational institutions to provide ‘appropriate’ armchairs to lefty students. — Joviland Rita/BM, GMA News