Some 600 learners from the 21 divisions of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Western Visayas gathered at Iloilo National High School here at the start of the two-day 2024 Regional Festival of Talents (RFOT) on Monday.

They will be competing in 24 competencies under seven categories, according to DepEd Regional Information Officer Hernani Escullar Jr.

The event serves as a clear and proactive reinforcement of the teaching and learning process, reflecting the significant association between what the learners learned in school and what they will perform and produce during this activity, Escullar said, quoting the regional office.

All events in the RFOT are aligned with essential learning competencies and standards of the K to 12 curriculum, consistent with the department’s dedicated efforts to produce functionally literate and holistically developed Filipinos.

The seven categories are Technolympics for Technology and Livelihood Education, Technical Vocational Education and Technical-Vocational Livelihood; Sining Tanghalan for Music and Arts; Population Development for Social Studies; Read-A-Thon for English and Filipino and Lingo Stars for Special Program in Foreign Language; Musabaqah for Madrasah Education Program; SNEd Expo for Special Needs Education; and STEMazing for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

“All participants showcased their best performance in their respective events. They demonstrated the learning competencies that were desired during the course of their studies,” Escullar said after the opening-day events.

There will be top three places after the competitons.

Winners of the festival will represent Western Visayas at the national festival in Cebu City on July 9 to 14. (PNA)