by EA Abasquez

San Jose, Antique (30 October) -- President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's stress on the importance of quality education in uplifting the lives of the poor, finds receptive chord in Antique. Corazon Brown, Schools Division Superintendent, disclosed that Antique is No. 1 in the whole Region VI in the National Achievement Test (NAT) secondary and No. 3 in NAT elementary category.

"Education is very important in my goal to eradicate poverty and improve the economy," President Arroyo said as she recently congratulated the schools and students who topped the 2006 NAT.

The NAT is conducted every year in all public elementary and high schools to assess the overall scholastic performance of public schools students nationwide.

The result of the NAT serves as an aid to government policymakers in the continuing upgrading of the country’s educational system, the President said.

This year’s NAT topnotcher-schools are the Balatero Elementary School in Oriental Mindoro – 1st place and the Tinago Elementary School in Southern Leyte – 2nd place in the elementary level and the Calbayog City National High School and Sulat National High School in Eastern Samar, are 1st and 2nd placers respectively in the high school level.

Meanwhile, Julie Albior and Flores Diwang were extended scholarship for their college education. Albior and Diwang are both from Bohol province, who were NAT topnotchers in the high school category, with identical 100 percent score in Mathematics, but because of poverty they could not go to college.