Poe sees better school leagues through K-12

MANILA, Philippines - Independent presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe said that with the entry of the first batch of Grade 12 students next school year, “it will also open the floodgates for more experienced and wider array of student-athletes in the country’s top-level collegiate leagues like the UAAP and NCAA.”

“The addition of two years to high school education (Grades 11 and 12) will surely create a huge impact in these leagues with the quality of competition in their junior divisions growing by leaps and bounds,” said Poe.

And this would not be counting the number of foreign or Fil-foreign students who may want to take secondary education in the Philippines because it now conforms to international educational standards.

“We now have a slew of Fil-foreigners and foreigners in our country’s many colleges. With the K-12 program, we will surely have a spike in enrolment from these students,” Poe said.

Thus, she urged these collegiate leagues and other inter-school competitions “to properly define their levels of competition to avoid any contentious arguments as to player eligibilities.”

“It may not even be far-fetched if, say, the UAAP would also like to divide its juniors competition to junior and senior high school,” she said.

Poe was quick to underscore that adolescents experience most growth, physically and mentally, between the ages of 15 and 20 years that could prove crucial in school teams’ performances. Current collegiate league rules allow juniors players to see action for the high school team until the age of 18 for as long as he or she continues to be enrolled in the school’s secondary school.

“With the K-12 program welcoming its first Grade 12 seniors, most of whom would be 18 years old in 2016, then these collegiate leagues may be well-advised to review their rules of eligibility for players in the junior level of competitions,” she said.

But consequently, Poe said that the level of play in the seniors level would also improve.“With a player starting his/her collegiate career at the age of 19, then the collegiate leagues will surely bask in the number of more experienced athletes,” she said.