NATIONAL

SERVICE
TRAINING
PROGRAM (NSTP)
Revised Implementing Rules and
Regulations (IRR) of the NSTP, 2006
Pursuant to Section 12 of Republic Act No. 9163 otherwise known as the National Service Training Program (NSTP)
Act of 2001, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA),
and Department of National Defense (DND), in consultation with concerned government agencies, the Philippine Association of
State Universities and Colleges(PASUC), Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the
Philippines(COCOPEA), Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and recognized student organizations, hereby jointly issue,
adapt and promulgate the following implementing rules and regulations in implement the provisions of the Act.
Rule I
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Section 1. Guiding Principle.
While it is the prime duty of the government to serve and protect its citizens, in turn it shall be the responsibility of all citizens to
defend the security and promote the general welfare of the State, and in fulfillment thereof, the government may require each
citizen to render personal military or civil service.
Section 2. Role of the Youth
a. In recognition of the vital role of the youth in nation building, the State shall promote civic consciousness among them and
shall develop their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being. It shall inculcate the ideals of patriotism,
nationalism, and advance their involvement in public and civic affairs.
b. As the most valuable resource of the nation, they shall be motivated, trained, organized and involved in military, literacy,
civic welfare programs and other similar endeavors in the service of the nation.
 Rule II
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Section 3. As used in this Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), the following terms shall mean:
a. “National Service Training Program”
(NSTP) – refers to the program aimed at enhancing civic consciousness and defense preparedness in the
youth, by developing the ethics of service and patriotism while undergoing training in any of the three (3)
Program components, specifically designed to enhance the youth’s active contribution to the general welfare;
b. “Reserve Officers’ Training Corps” (ROTC)
– refers to the Program component, institutionalized under Sections 38 and 39 of Republic Act No. 7077,
designed to provide military training to tertiary level students in order to motivate, train, organize and mobilize
them for national defense preparedness;
c. “Literacy Training Service” (LTS)
– refers to the Program component designed to train the students to teach literacy and numeracy skills to
school children, out-of-school youths and other segments of society in need of their services;
d. “Civic Welfare Training Service” (CWTS)
– refers to the Program component or activities contributory to the general welfare and the betterment of life
for the members of the community or the enhancement of its facilities, especially those devoted to improving
health, education, environment, entrepreneurship, safety, recreation and moral of the citizenry and other social
welfare services;
e. “Program Component”
– refers to the service components of NSTP as defined herein;
f. “Clustering”
– refers to the grouping of students enrolled to different schools and taking up the same NSTP
component into one (1) group under the management and supervision of a designated school;
g. “Cross Enrollment”
– refers to a system of enrollment were a students officially enrolled in an academic program of an
origin school but is allowed to enroll in the NSTP component of another accepting school; and
h. “Non-Government Organization” (NGO) –
refers to any private organization duly accredited by CHED or recognized by TESDA.
 Rule III
PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION
Section 4. Coverage
a. All incoming first year students, male and female, starting School Year (SY) 2002-2003, enrolled in
any baccalaureate and in at least two (2) year technical-vocational or associate courses, are required to
complete one (1) NSTP component of their choice, as a graduation requirement. The above provision,
however, does not cover the following:
a.1 Students who finished or graduated from a baccalaureate degree or two year technical-vocational
or associate course and pursuing or enrolled in another or additional baccalaureate degree or two-year
technical-vocational or associate course in SY 2003-2004, and;
a.2 Students who completed any of the three NSTP components but considered freshmen to the course
where they transferred or shifted.
a.3 Foreign students or aliens

b. All higher and technical-vocational education institutions must offer at least one (1) of the NSTP
components.
c. State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), shall offer the ROTC component and at least one (1) other
NSTP component
d. The Philippine Military Academy (PMA), Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA), and
Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA)are exempted from the NSTP in view of the special
character of these institutions. Other State Universities and Colleges of similar nature will be
exempted subject to approval of the Department of National Defense.
e. Private higher and technical-vocational education institutions with at least 350 student cadets, may
offer the ROTC component and consequently establish/maintain a Department of Military Science
and Tactics (DMST), subject to the existing rules and regulations of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP).

Section 5. Program Components

a. The NSTP shall have the following components which the students can choose from as defined
in Rule II, Section 3 hereof: The Reserve Officers Training Corps, Literacy Training Service (LTS),
and Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS).
b. All program components, the ROTC in particular, shall give emphasis on citizenship training and
shall instill patriotism, moral virtues, respect for the rights of civilians and adherence to the
Constitution.
c. The CHED, TESDA in consultation with the DND, and PASUC,COCOPEA and other concerned
government agencies, may design and implement such other non-military training components as may
be necessary in consonance with the provisions of R.A. 9163.
d. Within thirty (30) days from the approval of this revised IRR, the CHED,TESDA, and the DND
shall jointly issue the minimum standards for the three (3) NSTP components which shall form part of
these guidelines.

Section 6. Duration and Equivalent Course Unit

a. Each of the aforementioned NSTP components shall be undertaken for an
academic period of two (2) semesters. It shall be credited for three(3) units per semester, for
fifty-four (54) to ninety (90) training hours per semester.
b. A One (1) Summer Program(OSP) in lieu of the two (2) semester program may be
designed, formulated and adopted by the DND,CHED and TESDA, subject to the capability
of the school and the AFP to handle the same.
c. Earned NSTP units shall not be included in the computation of Grade Point Average (GPA)
grades of college graduating students.

Section 7. Clustering and Cross-Enrolment

a. Clustering of students from different education institutions during semestral or summer periods
may be done for any of the NSTP component, taking into account logistics, branch of service and
geographical locations. The host school shall be responsible in managing the Program.
b. Schools that do not meet the required number of students to maintain the optional ROTC and any
of the NSTP components, or do not offer the component chosen by the students, shall allow their
students to cross-enroll to other schools, irrespective or whether such school is under CHED or
TESDA; and in the case of students taking the ROTC component, irrespective of whether the two
semesters shall be taken from different schools whose ROTC are administered/managed by different
branches of service of the AFP.
c. Students intending to cross-enroll shall be subject to the existing rules and regulations of the school
of origin and the accepting school.

Section 8. Monitoring and Evaluation

A. Management
1. The school authorities shall exercise academic and administrative supervision over the design,
formulation, adoption and implementation of the different NSTP components in the irrespective
schools.
2. There should be an NSTP Office in each school or college/university headed by an NSTP Director
or its equivalent position responsible for the implementation of the Program. Each of the NSTP
components is considered a distinct and/or separate unit under the NSTP office, and the head of the
unit shall report directly to the NSTP Director or its equivalent position.
3. A functional chart of the NSTP Office shall be structured based on the capability of the institution
to sustain the component program being offered based on the number of enrollees.
4. In the case of ROTC, the school authorities and DND, subject to the policies, regulations and
programs of DND on the military component of the training, shall exercise joint supervision over its
implementation.
5. Schools which have contracted CHED-accredited or TESDA-recognized NGOs to formulate and
administer training modules for any of the NSTP components shall jointly exercise such academic
and administrative supervision with those NGOs. Within forty-five(45) days from approval and
issuance of this IRR, the CHED,TESDA and DND shall issue the necessary guidelines for the
accreditation of non-government organizations (NGOs) and training modules to be utilized by these
NGOs.

B. Monitoring
1. CHED Regional Offices, TESDA Provincial/District Offices and DNDAFP (through the Major
Service Reserve Commands), shall oversee and monitor the implementation of the NSTP under the
irrespective jurisdiction, to determine if the trainings conducted are inconsonance with the Act. These
Sub Offices shall submit periodic reports to the Central Offices of CHED, TESDA and DND.
2. CHED deputized officials shall coordinate and conduct spot visits to actual NSTP activities.
3. At the end of every school year the Higher Education Institution shall submit an Annual Report to
the CHED Regional Office copy furnished the Office of Student Services in electronic template,
indicating the following:
3.1 names who finished under each NSTP component,
3.2 the programs, projects and activities undertaken with pictorials and documentation as much
as possible, and
3.3 financial statements on the funds collected, allocated and utilized.
The annual report on NSTP by the university or college shall be made available to
faculty, students and the general public in the NSTP Office.
In regions with universities and colleges having two or more campuses, the university
concerned shall consolidate the report before submission to CHED Regional Offices.
4. In cases of violations of guidelines, warnings and/or sanctions may be imposed to schools and
accredited NGOs that disregarded or grossly violated the provisions of this implementing rules and
regulations.
 Rule IV
FEES AND INCENTIVES
Section 9. Fees.
a. No fees shall be collected for any of the NSTP components except basic tuition which should not
be more than fifty (50%) percent of the charges of the school per academic unit. NSTP tuition
collected shall constitute a Trust Fund, which shall be exclusively used for the operation of the
Program.
b. NSTP funds derived from NSTP-related operations shall serve as augmentation to sustain un-
programmed activities of NSTP.
c. The unexpended fund balance shall be carried over to the next semester; provided, however, NSTP
funds shall not be converted into savings at the expense of the proper implementation of the program
d. Subsidies from the government, any legal agency or institution appropriated for NSTP shall be
included in the preparation of the program of expenditure and report on the utilization of funds.
e. Expenditures/disbursements shall be subjected to periodic audits by the proper school authorities
and concerned NSTP officers;
f. The NSTP Director or its equivalent shall submit a comprehensive report on the utilization of the
NSTP Funds by program component to the school head, two weeks after the end of every semester.
g. Rental space of school and other similar expenses shall not be charged to NSTP.
Section 10. Incentive, Insurance and Protection
A. Incentives
1. A program of assistance/incentives for ROTC students shall be provided and administered by DND,
in accordance with existing laws and regulations and subject to the availability of funds.
2. A Special Scholarship Program and other forms of assistance and incentives for qualified NSTP
students shall be administered by CHED and TESDA, with funds for the purpose to be included in the
annual regular appropriations of the two agencies, subject to the availability of funds.
3. The college or university may provide scholarship and other forms of assistance and incentives to
qualified and deserving NSTP students, the funding of which shall come from available NSTP funds
of the school.
4. Personnel involved in the NSTP shall be provided honorarium and other incentives based on the
standard policy set forth by the HEIs.
B. Insurance and Protection
1. School authorities concerned, CHED and TESDA shall ensure that health and accident group
insurances are provided for students enrolled in any of the NSTP components.
2. Schools that already provide health and accident group insurance and collect the necessary fees for
the purpose from their students as of the effectivity of this Rules, are deemed to have complied with
this requirement.
 Rule V
ORGANIZATION OF NSTP GRADUATES
Section 11. Organization of NSTP Graduates
a. Graduates of the non-ROTC components of the NSTP shall belong to the National Service Reserve
Corps (NSPC) and could be tapped by the State for literacy and civic welfare activities, especially in
times of calamities through the joint efforts of DND, CHED and TESDA, incoordination with DILG,
DSWD and other concerned agencies/associations.
b. The CHED, TESDA and DND, in consultation with other concerned government and non-
government agencies, shall issue the necessary guidelines for the establishment, organization,
maintenance and utilization of the National Service Reserve Corps.
c. Graduates of the ROTC program shall form part of the Citizen Armed Force pursuant to RA 7077,
subject to the requirements of DND.

Rule VI
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Section 12. Certificate of Completion
Certificate of Completion with corresponding serial number issued by CHED, TESDA or DND, shall be
awarded to students who have successfully complied with the program requirements.
Section 13. Information Dissemination
The CHED, TESDA and DND shall provide information on these Act and IRR to all concerned
publics through different modes of disseminating information.
Section 14. Amendatory Clause
a. Section 35 of Commonwealth act No.1, Executive Order No. 207 of1939, Section 2 and 3 of
presidential Decree No. 1706,and Sections38 and 39 of Republic Act No. 7077, as well as all laws,
decrees, orders, rules and regulations and other issuances inconsistent with the provisions of the Act
are hereby deemed amended and modified accordingly.
b. This Rules may be amended, modified, or replaced jointly by CHED,TESDA and DND, in
consultation with PASUC, COCOPEA, NGOs and recognized student organizations.
Section 15. Separability Clause.
If any section or provisions of this IRR shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other
sections or provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 16 Effectivity.
This rules shall take effect 15 days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation and shall
remain in force and effect until revoked or amended.