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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider CHED, PRC sign agreement to align licensure exams with teacher specializations

CHED, PRC sign agreement to align licensure exams with teacher specializations

Published Apr 10, 2025 04:48 am

In a landmark move to enhance the quality of education in the Philippines, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) signed an agreement on Thursday, April 10, to align licensure examinations for teachers with their specific fields of specialization.

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The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) sign agreement to address misalignment in Licensure Exam to resolve teacher specialization mismatch (Photo from EDCOM 2)

This collaboration aims to ensure that educators are better equipped with the knowledge and skills tailored to their teaching domains, promising a more competent and specialized workforce to shape the nation’s future generations.

CHED and the PRC signed a Joint Memorandum Circular in Malacañang, agreeing to align the Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (LEPT) with the teacher education curriculum starting in September 2025.

The signing was witnessed by President Marcos, following his instructions during the Sectoral Meeting on the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) Year Two Report, Fixing the Foundations, in March.

In the meeting, the President directed CHED and PRC to urgently address the misalignment, while the legislation to amend RA 7836, or the Teacher Professionalization Act of 1994, is still underway.

EDCOM Report

According to the EDCOM Report, the “longstanding misalignment” between the teacher education curriculum issued by CHED and the contents of the BLEPT administered by PRC has contributed to “low passing rates among graduates as well as teacher specialization mismatch in schools.”

Based on the Commission’s analysis, the passing rate in the March 2024 BLEPT for graduates taking the MAPEH (34.1 percent) and TLTVE (33.2 percent) exams was much lower than the average passing rate of 62.9 percent.

EDCOM 2 also noted that 42.1 percent of Early Childhood Education graduates are required to take the Elementary BLEPT, with an average passing rate of 53.8 percent.

This factor has been identified as a contributing cause of the teacher specialization mismatch, with EDCOM reporting that 62 percent of high school teachers were assigned subjects unrelated to their college majors.

Implementation

Set to be implemented in September 2025, the Joint Circular introduces separate examinations for specific teaching specializations, such as Early Childhood Education and Special Needs Education.

This alignment is designed to ensure that the examination accurately assesses the competencies necessary for effective teaching across different educational levels and areas of specialization.

“By September 2025, we will endeavor to have specialized exams for teacher education programs, including early childhood and special needs education,” PRC Chairperson Charito Zamora said.

“This provides an additional layer of quality assurance, ensuring that the Department of Education (DepEd) can effectively seek out not just any licensed individual, but specifically those who are rightly qualified,” she added.

A welcome move

EDCOM 2, the Congressional body created through RA11899, tasked with undertaking a comprehensive national assessment and evaluation of the performance of the Philippine education sector, welcomed the move.

"Our ultimate goal is quality education, and we can only achieve this if we have teachers who truly understand what they teach,” said EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Rep. Roman Romulo.

“This alignment of the LEPT with the teacher education curriculum ensures that our educators are not just qualified, but are deeply knowledgeable in their specific fields. This is a big step towards providing the quality education that our students deserve,” he added.

For his part, EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Senator Win Gatchalian also underscored the importance of ensuring that the assessment of aspiring teachers reflects their specializations.

“Implementing specialized versions of the LEPT is one step toward addressing teacher-subject mismatch, which will eventually help us improve the quality of instruction in our schools,” Gatchalian said.

EDCOM 2 noted that legislative efforts are “currently underway” to amend RA 7836, or the Teacher Professionalization Act of 1994. House Bill 9979, filed by Romulo and EDCOM 2 Commissioners Rep. Khalid Dimaporo, Rep. Pablo John Garcia, and now TESDA Director-General Kiko Benitez, passed in the House of Representatives on March 19, 2024.

In the Senate, counterpart bills introduced by Gatchalian, Senator Loren Legarda, and Senator Joel Villanueva are currently pending review.

EDCOM 2 said that the proposed amendments seek to modernize the teacher certification process by aligning exams with current standards, offering diverse professional development pathways, enhancing transparency, requiring refresher courses, and updating board membership criteria to better reflect the present needs of the Philippine education system.

RELATED STORY: 

https://mb.com.ph/2025/2/2/philippine-education-system-needs-urgent-fixing

Related Tags

EDCOM 2 PRC teacher education CHED blept
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