A measure that would institutionalize the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP) hurdled committee level at the House of Representatives.
During the hearing on Monday, the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, chaired by Baguio City Rep. Mark Go, approved House Bill 5728, which aims to strengthen the system of academic equivalency and validation of the knowledge and expertise derived by individuals from relevant work experiences and high-level, non-formal training to harness their full potentials.
The bill is authored by TINGOG party-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre.
In his sponsorship speech, Acidre said the ETEEAP was introduced in 1996 by virtue of Executive Order 330, signed by then President Fidel V. Ramos.
“The ETEEAP is an education assessment scheme, which recognizes knowledge, skills, and prior learning obtained by an individual from non-formal and informal training and relevant work experiences,” he said.
Acidre said, through this program, an individual may be granted a diploma for a degree after a competency-based evaluation from an established assessment system employing written tests, interviews, skills demonstration, portfolio and other creative assessment methodologies administered by designated assessors or faculty experts.
“There is a need to provide individuals with proven competence access to opportunities that will increase their prospects for inclusion in the labor market, prepare them for higher value jobs required for achieving global competitiveness, advancing the strategic concerns of the government and promoting sustainable development,” he said.
Under the measure, professionals with an aggregate of five or more years of work experience can use the knowledge, experiences, achievements and skills obtained through their jobs to earn school credits that are then deducted from the total number of units or credits that they are required to earn before they graduate.
The following are the requirements to qualify for the program: a) Filipino citizen, whether in the Philippines or abroad; b) has at least five years of work experience; c) birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority; d) 23 years old or above; e) resume, curriculum vitae or personal data sheet; f) duly accomplished ETEEAP application form; g) service record or employment certificate signed by the employer; h) job description signed by the employer; and i) transcript of records.
The Commission on Higher Education shall be the lead agency in the implementation of the proposed law. It shall accredit colleges and universities that seek to offer the ETEEAP as part of their academic program. (PNA)
