MANILA, Philippines—A report on special education for children with disabilities won the “Outstanding Online Feature Article on Youth and Education” in this year’s Lasallian Scholarum
Awards.
The report, “Zero budget for special education in 2023 makes SPED law meaningless”, came out on Oct. 4, 2022 in INQUIRER.net and was written by Kurt Dela Peña, of the news site’s INQFocus channel devoted to research, features and special reports.
Dela Peña’s report, with graphics by INQFocus artist Ed Lustan, was about the need for the special education program (SPED) in public schools, especially for poor children.
The program didn’t get an allocation in the 2023 National Expenditure Program, which rendered the law that created it—Republic Act No. 11650 or the Instituting a Policy of Inclusion and Services for Learners with Disabilities in Support of Inclusive Education Act—meaningless.
Dela Peña’s report took a close look at the implications of the law’s exclusion from the NEP, especially for learners with special needs who depend on the SPED being offered in public schools.
The Lasallian Scholarum Awards is De La Salle University’s yearly media recognition program for outstanding coverage of youth and education stories. This year’s awarding was held on March 22.
