7 of 10 Filipino graduates fail in govt licensure exams

ALMOST 70 percent of college graduates in the country failed in the 2010 professional licensure examinations given by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), a lawmaker revealed Thursday.

Rep. Arnel Ty of LPG Marketers Association (LPGMA) Party-list, member of the House panel on Youth, Sports and Development, made the disclosure under his House Resolution 1160 urging the House Committees on Higher and Technical Education and the Civil Service and Professional Regulation to look into the conditions that may be causing the poor performance of many graduates in licensure examinations.

Ty cited that only 125,419 of the 345,182 or 36.3 percent college and technical school graduates passed their respective professional eligibility examinations last year per PRC records.

The PRC statistics, Ty said, were based on the results of licensure examinations for 45 groups of professionals.

“In many cases, college and technical school graduates become qualified to practice their profession or obtain gainful employment only if, after they pass their licensure examinations. Without eligibility, many of these graduates face the prospect of either being totally unemployed or underemployed, performing lesser work, or other work that may have nothing to do with their specialization,” Ty pointed out.

The top ten fields which registered the highest national passing rate are: optometrists (86.2 percent), nutritionists and dietitians (70.4 percent), medical technologists (66.2 percent), environmental planners (62.5 percent), mechanical engineers (62.2 percent), physicians (60.9%), guidance counselors (60%), landscape architects (60%), social workers (58.3%) and pharmacists (57.4%).

On the other hand, the lowest number of passing rates were posted by: elementary teachers (15.4 percent); secondary teachers (23.3 percent), electronics engineers (23.5 percent); X-ray technologists (25.9 percent); librarians (27.3 percent); custom brokers (29.7 percent); fisheries technologists (29.4 percent); veterinarians (31 percent) and registered electrical engineers (31.9 percent).

The paltry number of passers, Ty noted, is contrary to the state policy wherein the government is mandated to promote a sustained development of a reservoir of national talents consisting of Filipino scientists, entrepreneurs, professionals, managers, high-level technical manpower and skilled workers and craftsmen, among others. –LLANESCA T. PANTI REPORTER, Manila Times