PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — EDUCATION Secretary Jesli Lapus rejected the move to revive the defunct National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) pointing out that the current National Career Assessment Examination (NCAE) for all graduating high school students is more responsive to the changing time while enhancing the development of every student’s core skills.
“The career assessment exams is more attuned to the time compared with the NCEE as it provides a complete overview as to the particular direction one could take after finishing secondary schooling,” Lapus told reporters.
He added that the NCAE, which measures not only the aptitude and academic knowledge of students but also the technical and vocational capabilities as well as entrepreneurial skills, would also help address the growing employment mismatch and guide students on what career path to follow in pursuit college education or enter the field of work or business industry.
Lapus said that the NCAE is “less discriminatory” compared to the NCEE whose results are used whether a student can enter college and get a four-year degree program or not.
The NCEE was abolished in 1994 by then Education Secretary Raul Roco who said he wanted all high school students to be able to enter college and have a chance of a better career in the future. Though it is only implemented in 2006, the DepEd chief said the public is slowly taking cognizance of the NCAE and its importance.
According to Lapus, DepEd is working with Congress to push for the enactment of a law that would make NCAE a mandatory exam for graduating high school students.
Earlier, Commission on Higher Education chairman and Deputy chair of the Presidential Task Force on Education, Dr. Emmanuel Angeles said he is in favor of proposals to introduce an examination for those who want to enter college much like the NCEE.
But he clarified that the exams should be more of an Aptitude Test.
“Students graduating from high school who would want to go to college will take Aptitude Test and the results of which will be used to classify them into two groups,” Angeles said.
The first group will include those who will go to the pre-college or the Technical Vocational Evaluation Test track and those who will go to the university college track, Angeles said.