THE Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has partnered with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) in introducing new specialization components in the licensure examination for teachers (LET).
Higher Education Secretary Prospero De Vera and PRC Chairperson Charito Zamora yesterday signed a Joint Memorandum Circular in Malacañang for the alignment of the LET with CHED programs, standards, and guidelines.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. witnessed the signing of the agreement, which intends to improve teaching specialties and address teacher-subject mismatch in basic education.
Among the components to be introduced in the LET are specializations for Early Childhood Education, Special Needs Education, Technical-Vocational Teacher Education, Physical Education, and Culture and Arts Education.
“This landmark reform embodies our commitment to ensure that every Filipino teacher is equipped with the skills and tools needed to teach with depth, clarity, and purpose. It is a vital step towards raising the quality of education for the present, and most importantly for the future,” Marcos said.
“CHED fully supports the formulation of specialized licensure examinations for teachers and commits to actively collaborating with the PRC to ensure the effective delivery and implementation of this landmark joint agreement,” De Vera said.
He expressed confidence that by introducing distinct examinations tailored to each teacher education program specialization, the transformation of the teaching licensure process will speed up improvements in the quality of education in the classrooms.
“It marks a significant milestone in our collective effort to deploy highly qualified, licensed teachers to schools across the country,” he added.
Last week, CHED awarded 120 teacher education institutions for their competence in producing educators and adherence to accredited program standards, continuous improvement in teaching methodologies, and stellar performance in the Board of Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (BLEPT).
These top TEIs are in a position to assist other Philippine higher education institutions to improve their quality assurance mechanisms for the national standards for teacher education.
CHED said there are currently 1,536 higher education institutions in the country offering teacher education programs.
