To help ensure that only well-prepared educators enter the profession, an industry-led advocacy group on Tuesday, Oct. 1, emphasized the necessity of evaluating and enhancing the licensure examinations for teachers.
“With systemic issues plaguing the current teacher education framework, updating policies and ensuring quality standards are critical in restoring trust and ensuring that only well-prepared educators enter the profession,” said Justine Raagas, Executive Director of the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), in a statement.
PBEd noted that the recent administration of the Board Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (BLEPT) — with over 100,000 takers every September — highlights the critical need for immediate improvement in teacher preparation.
According to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), teaching remains one of the two most enrolled courses in the country.
“Teachers play a pivotal role in developing the foundational skills of our learners,” Raagas said. “Therefore, we must continuously update our strategies to ensure we recruit and train only the best educators for our students,” she added.
Improving teaching quality
A PBEd study revealed that more than half of the teacher education institutions (TEIs) in the country consistently perform poorly on the BLEPT, with passing rates below the national average between 2010 and 2022.
Earlier this year, CHED committed to closing down TEIs that are consistently non-performing and non-compliant with the prescribed minimum standards.
Citing a report issued by the Second Congressional Commission on Education, CHED issued Resolution No. 352-2024, which revised its policy for assessing TEI board performance for the years 2021-2023, covering only first-time takers, and TEI compliance with CHED standards such as critical quality indicators per CHED Memorandum Order Nos. 74 to 80, and 82, series of 2017.
PBEd underscored that this order from CHED will “help compel schools to provide teacher education programs of higher quality — which the schools and our teacher education students deserve.”
“We eagerly await CHED’s directive to shut down poorly performing programs, as future teachers deserve to be trained in good schools,” Raagas said. “However, we recognize that the BLEPT itself must also be evaluated and improved to ensure it effectively measures a teacher’s readiness,” she added.
Meanwhile, PBEd expressed optimism about the government's efforts to enhance teacher quality in the country, viewing this as essential to addressing the education crisis.
PBEd also conveyed its willingness to collaborate not only with CHED but also with the newly operational Teacher Education Council, aiming to enhance the coordination and alignment of the education curriculum with the content of the BLEPT.