The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) announced that 13 state universities and colleges (SUCs) that participated in the free review program increased their passing rates in the latest licensure exam for agriculturists (LEA).
CHED has partnered with the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) to offer free online review classes to help more agriculture students pass the Licensure Examination for Agriculturists (LEA).
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https://mb.com.ph/2024/5/3/ched-uplb-partner-to-offer-free-review-for-agri-students
In a statement, CHED said a “notable average increase” of sixteen (16) percentage points in the passing rate of the participating SUCs was observed. A 100 percent increase was noted in SUCs from remote regions such as Sulu State College (SSC), Tawi-Tawi Regional Agricultural College (TRAC), and Romblon State University (RSU).
“The major reason why most students in far-flung areas fail the licensure tests is because there are no review schools in the area, they have to travel far to attend review classes, or they don't have the money to pay for review classes,” CHED Secretary Popoy de Vera said.
“This is the reason why CHED asked UPLB, the top agriculture school in the country, to use technology to deliver free online review classes for far-flung and low-performing SUCs,” he added.
De Vera highlighted that it is “gratifying to see that our program has significantly increased the passing rate of our students in the LEA.”
With its success, De Vera said free review programs for forestry, veterinary medicine, nursing, and teacher education will be implemented in 2025.
Review program
The ExcelLEArate Program, funded by CHED and delivered by UPLB, is a free, online, structured review program for students from fifteen (15) identified SUCs in far-flung areas without the availability of review centers.
It is part of the Paglaum kag Pagdaug (Hope and Victory) program, launched by 50 SUCs earlier this year to increase the participation and completion rates of free higher education beneficiaries nationwide. CHED noted that other participating SUCs, including Capiz State University-Tapaz Campus and University of Eastern Philippines-Catubig Campus, have achieved more than a 70% increase in their passing rates.
Northwest Samar State University - San Jorge Campus and Quirino State University’s passing rates increased by approximately 60 percent, and Kalinga State University increased their passing rate by 42 percent.
Meanwhile, Basilan State College increased by 38 percent, and North Eastern Mindanao State University - San Miguel Campus and University of Rizal System - Tanay Campus increased by 36 percent.
For UPLB College of Agriculture and Food Science Dean Amado A. Angeles, the program is an “example of selfless institutional collaboration—UPLB lecturers and participating SUC faculty facilitators working hand-in-hand to push the LEA takers up, despite the distance and other limitations of the online review.”
UPLB Chancellor Jose V. Camacho, Jr., meanwhile, congratulated the partner universities whose students successfully passed the examination. “Our hard work in conducting the review sessions paid off,” he added.
The free online review program started in June of this year, ahead of the 2024 October LEA.
“We can help our participating SUCs not only increase their passing rates but also produce topnotchers,” De Vera said.
LEA 2024
Last week, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced that 3,628 out of 7,144 passed the LEA administered by the Board of Agriculture in 18 testing centers across the Philippines this November.
Notably, CHED said UPLB remained the top-performing school in the LEA with a 100 percent passing rate and produced seven (7) of the fifteen (15) topnotchers in the examination.
“I would like to commend the leadership of UPLB Chancellor Camacho and Dean Angeles for exemplifying what UP should do as a national university—that is, utilizing your expertise to help other HEIs become better and as competitive as you are,” De Vera said.
“Hopefully, next year we can help our participating SUCs not only increase their passing rates but also produce topnotchers,” he added.