Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 5250)
The primary purpose of Republic Act No. 5250 is to establish a ten-year training program for teachers of special and exceptional children in the Philippines and to authorize the appropriation of funds for this program.
The training program is administered and supervised by the Bureau of Public Schools in cooperation with the University of the Philippines.
The training program is established for a duration of ten years.
Special and exceptional children include the mentally retarded, the crippled, the deaf and hard of hearing, the speech handicapped, the socially and emotionally disturbed, and the gifted.
Institutions of learning chosen by the Department of Education are tasked to carry out the training of teachers for this program and must grant the necessary academic credit for the training courses.
All expenses, including tuition, other fees, and stipends for teacher trainees, shall be charged against the program's funds and disbursed by the Director of Public Schools.
The pilot classes aim to integrate special and exceptional children into the regular school program and encourage their socialization by conducting special education within the facilities of regular schools whenever possible.
The program will set up research and survey projects to identify and locate exceptional children in need of its services.
The scholarships are created for prospective teachers to support their training courses and ensure they are intellectually and emotionally prepared to handle special education.
The Secretary of Education is responsible for issuing the necessary rules and regulations and for employing specialists to implement the provisions of the Act.
An initial appropriation of three hundred fifty thousand pesos is authorized for the fiscal year 1968 to carry out the provisions of this Act.
The Act took effect upon its approval on June 15, 1968.