The National Schools Press Conference (NSPC), which gathers campus journalists nationwide to compete in various fields, will be held in Cebu province this July as announced by the Department of Education (DepEd).

In DepEd Memorandum No. 025 s. of 2024 signed by Undersecretary Gina Gonong, the agency said that the 2024 NSPC will be conducted from July 8 to July 12.

“The host region for this year’s NSPC is Region VII with Carcar City as the host division and Cebu Province as the co-host division,” DepEd said.

DepEd said the conduct of the NSPC is aligned with the thrust of Republic Act (RA) No. 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.

With the theme, “Galing, Talino at Husay ng mga Batang Makabansa sa Diwa ng MATATAG na Adhika,” DepEd said this year’s NSPC aims to respond to its commitment to fostering holistic development through the MATATAG Agenda.

“It incorporates the 21st-century skills that learners continue to develop as they progress in the Basic Education Program,” DepEd said.

“These standards and skills manifest in diverse journalistic experiences across print, broadcast, and new media,” the agency added.

The NSPC, as per DepEd, aims to demonstrate an understanding of journalism through skillful execution in various platforms such as print, broadcast, and online and to recognize the role of journalism in advocating for social consciousness and environmental awareness.

DepEd said the NSPC also aims to promote fair and ethical use of media as tenets of responsible journalism; foster camaraderie and enrich learning experiences through healthy and friendly competitions.

Moreover, DepEd said the NSPC aims to provide “learners opportunities to use the skills learners in campus journalism for their future career.”

DepEd said the Division Schools Press Conference (DSPC) and Regional Schools Press Conference (RSPC) shall be conducted to ensure an “impartial and unbiased selection” of contestants to participate in the NSPC.

These conferences, DepEd said, shall be held within the school year.

Meanwhile, DepEd stressed that the consent of parent or guardian for participation shall be “secured before allowing the learners to join any journalism related conference.”

DepEd said that the NSPC will be composed of contests for individual categories, group categories, and school paper categories.

The NSPC activities for Individual Contest (English and Filipino for elementary and secondary) include news writing, feature writing, editorial writing, sports writing, copyreading and headline writing, science and technology writing, photojournalism, editorial cartooning, and column writing.

For the Group Contest, the activities include radio script writing and broadcasting (English and Filipino for elementary and secondary); collaborative desktop publishing (English and Filipino for elementary and secondary); online publishing (English and Filipino for elementary and secondary), and TV script writing and broadcasting (English and Filipino for elementary and secondary).

School Paper Content (English and Filipino for elementary and secondary in PDF) for the news section, features section, editorial section, science and technology section, sports section, and layout and page design.

Recognizing and respecting Intellectual Property Rights, the DepEd said it adheres to the rule concerning plagiarism.

DepEd reiterated its stand to “disqualify” school papers found to have copied and published texts, graphics, and other materials without duly acknowledging their sources. The disqualification, it added, also applies to all sections of the school paper.

“Any form of plagiarism in all competitions, as proven by the board of judges, shall be ground for disqualification,” DepEd said. “The decision of the Boards of Judges is final and irrevocable,” it added.

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