To provide learners with opportunities to exhibit their learning, the DepEd holds annual competitions at the school, schools division, regional, and national levels. These competitions are discussed in this section.
Table of Contents
List of Co-curricular Activities in Secondary Education
National Schools Press Conference (NSPC)
The National Schools Press Conference (NSPC) is DepEd’s competition for campus journalists. The NSPC is mandated by Republic Act No. 7079 or the Campus Journalism Act of 1991, which directs DepEd to hold “periodic competitions, press conferences and training seminars in which student-editors/writers and teacher-adviser of student publications in the elementary, secondary and tertiary levels shall participate. Such competitions, conferences and seminars shall be held at the institutional, divisional, and regional levels, culminating with the holding of the annual national elementary, secondary or tertiary School Press Conferences in places of historical and/or cultural interest in the country.”
Through the NSPC, DepEd provides a venue for an enriching learning experience for students interested in journalism as a career, promotes responsible journalism and fair and ethical use of various media, and enhances journalistic competence through healthy and friendly competitions. Furthermore, young campus journalists are expected to demonstrate an understanding of the importance of journalism by expressing it through different journalistic endeavors and approaches, and sustain advocacy on social consciousness and environmental awareness.
The NSPC has expanded its competition from the usual print category to online and broadcast (TV and radio) categories. To accommodate schools that cannot print their own paper, electronic copies (pdf) are being considered as entries in the school paper contest.
National Festival of Talents (NFoT)
The National Festival of Talents (NFoT) aims to provide secondary school learners with opportunities to showcase their talents through exhibitions of their products and performances as evidence of their learning, and extend parallel learning sessions for teachers and learners to enhance their knowledge and skills in their respective fields of interest.
The NFoT has skills exhibition in different fields, namely, Technolympics (Technology and Livelihood Education), Sining Tanghalan (Arts), National Population Quiz and On-the-Spot Skills Exhibition on PopDev [Araling Panlipunan), Pambansang Tagisan ng Talino (Filipino), and Foreign Language Skills Showcase (Special Program in Foreign Language). It also includes Musabaqah, an activity primarily for learners who attend Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education (ALIVE) classes, to demonstrate their competencies in the learning area.
National Science and Technology Fair (NSTF)
The National Science and Technology Fair (NSTF) aims to promote Science and Technology consciousness among the youth and identify the most creative or innovative Science researchers who will represent the country in international competitions like the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF).
As a research competition, the NSTF encourages young scientists to conduct investigative studies in life science, physical science, and robotics. Mathematics and engineering-related projects fall under the physical science category.
Palarong Pambansa
The Palarong Pambansa (or Palaro) is an annual multilevel national scholastic athletic competition conducted by DepEd and participated in by elementary and secondary learners from public and private schools. The Palaro was institutionalized through Republic Act No. 10588, or the Palarong Pambansa Act of 2013, and serves as a laboratory of learned or acquired knowledge, skills, and attitudes in Physical Education and school sports programs. It provides athletic young learners opportunities to improve their physical, moral, intellectual, and social well-being, and serves as a means to promote education, health, development, and peace.
The Palaro also seeks to instill the spirit of discipline, teamwork, excellence, fair play, solidarity, sportsmanship, and other values inherent in sports among student-athletes. It has served as a platform for talent identification, selection, recruitment, training and exposure of elementary and secondary student athletes. Through the Palaro, the DepEd promotes Physical Education and Sports as an integral part of the Basic Education Curriculum and affirms the schools’ commitment to the full development of the potential of young learners to become responsible and globally competitive citizens.
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