Measure to guide high schoolers on careers passes

The House of Representatives has passed a bill creating the National Career Assessment Examination (NCAE) to measure the aptitude and skills of high school graduates seeking college admission and help them determine which fields to pursue.

The chamber approved on third and final reading House Bill No. 5895, the proposed National Career Assessment Examination Act, a substitute to House Bill Nos. 2123 and 2204 filed by Marikina Rep. Marcelino R. Teodoro, Apayao Rep. Eleanor C. Bulut-Begtang and Sorsogon Rep. Evelina G. Escudero.

“The measure will pave the way for a high quality of education in the Philippines by monitoring and regulating the admission of high school students in courses for which they show greater aptitude and potential,” said Pangasinan Rep. Kimi Cojuangco, chair of the House basic education and culture committee.

Under the measure, the NCAE shall “assess and evaluate the aptitude, skills and inclination of a student to pursue a college or university course, a technical vocational course or an entrepreneurial course.”

The bill mandates the Department of Education, through the National Education Testing and Research Center, to administer the annual NCAE to Grade 9 students in all public and private schools.

Viable balance

Escudero, one of the authors of the bill, said it would help maintain a “viable balance” in the country’s workforce, by stabilizing the number of white-collar employees, skilled manpower and entrepreneurs.

The NCAE shall measure a student’s entrepreneurial, nonverbal and general scholastic aptitude by testing his or her skill in reading comprehension, as well as in scientific, verbal, mathematical and logical reasoning.

The NCAE shall also measure a student’s technical-vocational aptitude, which covers manipulative skills and clerical ability. The exam includes occupational fields of interest such as outdoor, mechanical, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and clerical interests.

If passed into law, the annual NCAE shall be administered nationwide on the last Wednesday of August.

The results of the test, however, would be “recommendatory” and shall not be used for any purpose other than career guidance.

The measure also mandates the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) to adopt programs based on the NCAE results.

For instance, examination results may serve as a basis for the selection of grantees for scholarship programs and in setting the cut-off scores for various CHEd and Tesda courses.