Campus journalists ask DepEd to revert to old NSPC rules

As the Department of Education (DepEd) made official the guidelines for the conduct of the 2026 National Schools Press Conference (NSPC), campus journalists from various regions of the country called on Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara to revert to the previous practice wherein the top three winners per individual category in the Regional Schools Press Conference (RSPC) will represent their respective regions in the nationa event.

- CLAUDETH MOCON-CIRIACO

Under DepEd Memorandum 021, s. 2026, issued on March 19, only the first placer per individual category will be able to participate in the NSPC that is scheduled to be held in Ormoc City, Leyte, on April 13-17.

Dismayed campus journalists and coaches noted that sending only one participant in the individual categories (Newswriting, Editorial and Column Writing, Feature Writing, Science Writing, Sports Writing, Copy Editing and Headline Writing, and Photojournalism), was observed in 2023. This was during the resumption of face-to-face classes and contests, including the annual NSPC, after nearly three years of lockdown owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.