MANILA, Philippines–The Department of Education has allocated an additional subsidy for schools with Special Program in Sports (SPS), said Education Secretary Armin Luistro.

Luistro said that on top of regular maintenance and other operating expenses for school year 2011-2012, the 17 secondary expansion schools implementing the SPS are granted up to P500,000  in subsidy to train high school students who excel in sports.

“For us to develop the untapped talent of students in sports, we have to invest in their training and other sporting needs,” added Luistro.

As specified in DepEd Order no 71 s. 2011, the budget will be divided into:

• 20% for training of teachers and administrators on relevant topics in sports
• 40% for the procurement of sports supplies including athletic uniforms
• 5% for the procurement of instructional materials in SPS
• 20% should be allocated for student development activities such as training, workshops, participation in DepEd-approved competitions in sports including travel allowance
• 15% will be for participation in DepEd-sponsored scholarships, professional upgrading of teachers including enrolment in a master’s degree program in sports.

Luistro said the 17 recipient schools will receive a fixed allocation of P290,000 and a variable allocation computed at P500 per student.

Those schools are also directed to conduct a yearly mentoring program to other schools within the 40 priority division in the region which intend to implement the same sports program. They will also be given access to the sports equipment and facilities in order to improve their learning outcomes.

Moreover, the student-beneficiaries of the sports program must continue to participate in national or international competitions.

“Because we want to develop not only their physical prowess but their academic potential as well, we require that our beneficiaries must attain a mean percentage score above the national average in the National Achievement Test,” Luistro explained.

The 17 SPS schools are Ilocos Norte National High School in Region I, Cagayan 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.