Campus Journalism Funds Diverted to another Program

 Press Conferences are held every year. Starting from the division level, it goes to the regional level and finally to the national level. Student's writer who qualify in every level will move one by one until their reach the prestigious national level. However, because of scarcity of funds, there are times when winning campus writers cannot compete with the winners in regional level, much more to the national level.

 The reason for this is that the schools depend on PTCA (Parent-Teacher-Community Association) funds’ participation in and out of town press conferences. Sometimes, these are curtailed because either funds are diverted to other purpose or there are no collections at all. It’s disheartening to know that a provision in the DepEd memorandum 203 dated June 5, 2006, stated with the regional trainings of advisers and campus journalists shall be subsidized by the Campus Journalism Funds (CJF). But based on our experience, our participation in the regional press conferences was never subsidized by the CJF. There was an instance when we did not participate in the regional press conference because we did not have funds for fare, registration and allowance for the contingent. It was really frustrating as we had seven winners in the division level.

    Even if the former DepEd Director Mordeno in the Philippines emphasized that school paper funds should be deposited in a bank with the principal, adviser and editor-in-chief as signatories, this was not so during our times where the majority of advisers principals and editor-in-chiefs were clamoring for the lack of funds. On the contrary, the PTCA collected and kept custody of all funds. They kept on ignoring the call and earnest request by the concerned persons to hand over the money to the in-charge of the publication.

    On behalf of the advisers and editor-in-chiefs of the publication, we wish other principals adhered to the directive of regional director and insisted that funds be intended for school paper and be given or entrusted to the school and not the PTCA.

The following are submitted content by concerned DepED Teachers.

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