Cutting classes of students has been a rampant problem of parents, teachers and the Department of Education. One of the go-to places of these class-skipping students is the billiards hall usually found only near and around schools.
This seemingly harmless hobby of students usually turns into a harmful one once the students prioritize it instead of coming to school. Not to mention, the outside influence of some adults who are also in the same spot.
To remedy the situation, DepEd has come up with an unconventional solution; place billiard tables inside the school premises. DepEd sees the action to decrease the number of students who spend most of their time in billiard halls which ultimately lead them to dropping out from school.
Billiards had been a demo sport for three years before it became a regular sport in this year’s Palarong Pambansa which was held in Buenavista, Antique. This encourages students to try out the sport.
According to tournament director for Billiards Competition for the said games Jofran Nyl Tupas, DepEd encourages division schools to purchase billiard tables for their schools. It gains approval from fellow teachers.
“We are putting billiards inside the school para ‘yung mga manlalaro natin hindi na lalabas. Para ‘yung pagte-training natin hindi na lalabas,” says Tupas. (We are putting billiards inside the school so players would no longer need to go outside. So during training, there is no need to go out.)
Having billiards included in Palarong Pambansa also encouraged many school drop-outs to go back to school. Many teachers who teach billiards also lauded the decision of the Department including coach of SOCCSKSARGEN Ryan Dinero.
Dinero says that the move shows people that billiards is not a bad sport like it was viewed by many. He adds that it became easier for some out-of-school youth to be convinced to continue their studies and show their prowess on the said sport.
Presently, schools may have billiard tables inside the school premises and conduct formal training for students. The facility can be used during PE time or even during breaks.
DepEd is currently scouting out-of-school youth with great potential on sports such as billiards for them to get back to school and further hone their talent.