CHED Chairman Prospero De Vera III said that this is one of the achievements of the Unified Tertiary Sports Program which the commission and the Philippine Sports Commission signed last March.

“We’re creating better pathways for our sports-inclined young people to develop. We are creating synergy in higher education because the different schools, the different associations, are enthusiastic in working together. I think that is a breakthrough in tertiary sports,” De Vera said.

Under the agreement of CHED and PSC, the two institutions will work together to provide ample training for student-athletes, coaches, and sports officials, as well as continuing education to ensure optimal training and coaching skills for the future sports stars.

De Vera stressed that there is “much to look forward in the progress of the sports career of young Filipinos.” 

“Talagang ang target ng CHED is to invigorate sports in schools. Doon muna ang immediate target namin. Iyong pagpunta ng athletes from schools to the national sports associations, that will be a logical progression of linkages,” he said.

“Maayos lang natin ang sports sa schools, I think that will be a dramatic achievement already compared to before. Kasi dati hindi nag-uusap-usap. At least ngayon, nag-uusap,” he added.

To achieve this, the CHED chief urged the top universities to use “bayanihan spirit” to help upgrade the quality of tertiary sports.

“We can bring the universities together, get the best practices from top universities like La Salle, UST, UP, and develop capacity building for the other universities so that overall, our sports facilities in the country are up to standards,” De Vera said.

“That is what I ask from other top schools, use bayanihan spirit to help each other upgrade the quality of our tertiary sports,” he added.