DepEd funds athletic training in selected schools

MANILA, Philippines – P 8.5 million pesos. This is the total budget that the Department of Education has allotted to subsidize 17 regional schools that offer special programs in sports.

Each school will be receiving P 500,000 as training subsidy for faculty and student-athletes alike. The subsidy aims to enable the schools to train student-athletes for nationwide and international competitions in the future.

According to Education Secretary Armin Luistro, “There is cost in developing world-class athletes and the schools are the natural breeding ground of grassroots talents.”

DepEd Order s. 2012 stated that the funding will be added to the schools’ maintenance and operating expenses. The subsidy will finance the participation of teachers in DepEd-sponsored scholarships and activities as well professional upgrading such as enrolling in masters degree programs in sports.

The additional budget will also be used to purchase instructional materials, sports supplies and athletic uniforms.

Brains and brawn

Students from the selected schools are expected to undergo trainings and workshops and to participate in DepEd-approved national and international competitions like the Palarong Pambansa. All the students’ expenses in such activities will be subsidized.

As a form of check and balance, the recipient schools will be required to conduct a yearly mentoring program to other schools within the same division that intend to implement the same sports program.

The aspiring schools will also be given access to the sports facilities and equipments of the subsidized schools. Schools that fail to comply with such guidelines are at risk of having their subsidies suspended.

DepEd upholds that their aim is for holistic formation for the student-athletes. Hence, they also want them to be academically competent as much as they are excellent in sports.

“Because we want to develop the whole person and not just their physical talent, we require that our athlete beneficiaries attain a mean percentage score above the national average in the National Achievement Test,” Luistro explained.

The 17 schools are Ilocos Norte National High School in Region I, Cagayan National High School (NHS) in Region 2, Victoria NHS in Region 3, Lopez National Comprehensive HS in Region 4-A, Palawan National School in Region 4-B, Camarines Sur NHS in Region 5, Iloilo NHS in Region 6, Negros Oriental NHS in Region 7, Palo NHS in Region 8, Zamboanga Sibugay NHS in Region 9, Bukidnon NHS in Region 10, Sto. Tomas NHS in Region 11, General Santos City NHS in Region 12, Bayugan National  Comprehensive HS in CARAGA, Datu Paglas NHS in Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao, Tabuk NHS in Cordillera Administrative Region, and Muntinlupa Science HS in the National Capital Region. – Rappler.com