No More Top 1, Valedictorian: DepEd Memorandum On Recognition Of Honor Students In Alphabetical Order Is True

Claim: A page named DepEd (Department of Education) Community posted a DepEd memorandum last Saturday, July 8, seeking to inform schools that students with academic excellence awards should be treated in a “fair, impartial, and non-hierarchical manner.” 

“No more titles of valedictorian and salutatorian. No more concept of Top 1. Announcements of (students) with highest honors, with high honors and with honors must be made in alphabetical order not from highest to lowest within categories,” read the post that was based on the memorandum dated May 27, 2021.

Rating: True

Facts: An official copy of the memorandum is actually available on DepEd’s website. It was meant to be a clarification for DepEd’s 2016 order regarding its award-giving policies under the K to 12 curriculum in the country. 

Under the 2016 order, DepEd aimed to promote equality instead of competition towards academic excellence. At the time, it said students have their “own unique strengths” that need to be “identified, strengthened, and publicly acknowledged.” 

“It is important to veer away from valuing only academic achievement based on high grades and move toward valuing and celebrating a wide range of student achievements,” the 2016 rationale read.

But the 2021 memorandum focuses on academic excellence awards. For each category (with highest honors, with high honors, with honors), students would be called alphabetically, and not based on their final averages. 

As an example, DepEd gave three names: Margarita Aragon with a 92 final average, Juana Dela Cruz with 91, and Jesus Zaragosa with 94. 

With the memorandum, DepEd explained, “The name of learner Margarita Aragon shall be announced first, followed by Juana dela Cruz and Jesus Zaragosa.” 

Why this matters: While the memorandum is already two years old, DepEd Community’s post has garnered significant reach. As of writing, the post has about 5,000 comments, along with 52,000 shares and 64,000 reactions.

The post is also on Reddit’s Philippine subreddit and has garnered 752 upvotes along with 272 comments.

The memorandum has been polarizing. On one hand, netizens praised DepEd as it promotes fairness, along with eliminating self-esteem issues and comparisons in 

terms of grades. 

“I remember galit na galit ako sa (Top) 1 ng class namin kasi hindi ko siya matalo, but now years after friends na kami and nasasayangan ako, ilang years din ‘yun of friendship that we could've had if it wasn't for unnecessary rivalry, (I remember being really angry at our class’ Top 1 whom I couldn’t beat. But now, years after, we are already friends and I feel like so much time was wasted…those were years of friendship we could have had if it wasn’t for unnecessary rivalry) ” one netizen recalled. 

“I agree (with the memorandum), even though my child is in high honor, I'm not gonna compete (with) her average among others. The award itself is enough reason to celebrate. And what's important is (that) they did their best to excel in their studies. Congratulations to all the achievers and graduates,” another netizen said. 

But on the other hand, some have claimed its unfairness and invalidation of a student’s hard work. 

“Everyone ought to be honored, regardless of standing, but in a fair and just manner. We cannot dispute the fact that having outstanding marks can provide us with numerous advantages in our academic career, particularly for scholarships at famous colleges that we wish to attend,” several netizens commented. 

“Strongly disagree (because) it's unfair to those who strive hard to get higher grades,” said another netizen who has received 2,800 heart emojis as of writing.