To: Bureau Directors
Regional Directors
Schools Superintendents
Presidents, State Colleges and Universities
Heads of Private Schools, Colleges and Universities

1. Because of the many benefits derived from the teaching of journalism and publishing of school newspapers, the program has now become integral part of the secondary school curriculum. For this reason, utmost support and encouragement must be given to this particular student activity in the school campus.
2. In this connection, the following rules and guidelines are hereby prescribed:
   1. Under the guidance and tutelage of a teacher-adviser, the high school student staff shall publish four issue every school year of an eight-page school newspaper, 18” by 12” newsprint in tabloid form, regularly once in two months starting with the June-July issue and ending with the February-March issue.
   2. The selection of the editor-in-chief of the student-staff shall normally be through competitive examinations, conducted and supervised by a board judges composed of the school faculty members form the communication arts and the social studies departments. Satisfactory grades or scholarship standing may be prescribed as a pre-qualification requirement for candidates to the chief editorship.
   3. A teacher-adviser should be definitely assigned to manage and supervise the work of the student-staff. The time required for advising the student-staff shall be included in the computation of the teacher’s load and given weight proportionate to that of a regular classroom assignment.
   4. An annual subscription fee of twenty pesos (P 20.00) shall be collected form each student-subscriber. Proper accounting and auditing of school newspaper funds shall be made regularly by school authorities concerned. It is understood that subscription fees collected from students shall not be used for purposes other than those for which they are intended.
   5. Brothers and sisters attending the same school may be allowed to have one subscription only for the school year.
   6. Expenses relative to the attendance of student-editors and school newspaper advisers in the regionally and national secondary schools press conferences or other forms of in-service programs in journalism should be provided school budget.
   7. Two issues of the school newspaper shall be submitted for the group contests in the annual National Secondary Schools Press Conferences (NSSPC); the first issue shall be due on October 30th every school year to the Technical Service. Department of Education, Culture and Sports, Manila.
   8. Only school newspapers with complete sections – news, editorial, features-literary, and sports- shall qualify for the group contests. Definitely no mimeographed paper will be accepted for the group contests.
3. All other relative to high school newspapers which are inconsistent with this Order are hereby rescinded.

(SGD.) LOURDES R. QUISUMBING
Minister

Reference: MECS Orders: Nos. 39, s. 1979 and (57 AND 62, s. 1981)
Allotment: 1-2-3-4–(M.O. 1-87)

To be indicated in the Perpetual Index under the following subjects:
CURRICULUM
FUNDS
OFFICIAL
PUBLICAITONS
RULES AND REGULATIONS
SCHOOLS
SCHOOLS PAPER
STUDENTS
TEACHERS