Two more academic years in high school mulled

MANILA, Philippines – Government education experts are looking into the possibility of adding two years of schooling for high school graduates who want to pursue a university degree.

Dr. Mona Dumlao-Valisno, presidential adviser on education, said that the move was one of the options being studied to boost the chances of Filipino graduates and professionals in getting their college degrees and professional licenses recognized by foreign employers and educators.

“It could be one year or two years of pre-university,” Valisno told The STAR.

“It will only be for those who will go to university,” she added.

Valisno, member of the Presidential Task Force on Education created by President Arroyo to study and come up with ways to reform and invigorate the country’s education sector, is the one responsible for securing the recognition of Filipino professionals, especially in terms of their college diplomas and licenses issued by the Philippines’ Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), in foreign countries.

She had earlier said that the country’s 10-year basic education curriculum (BEC) was the primary reason for the discrimination against Filipino professionals who try to get jobs abroad.

She said that the Philippines is probably the only country in the world with a 10-year BEC as others have at least a 12-year BEC.

The discrimination, she said, came in the form of the non-recognition of a Filipino graduate’s college diploma or a Filipino professional’s PRC license as an engineer, nurse, or doctor.

“We want other countries to have the right measure in their assessment of the Philippines’ human capital,” Valisno said.

Because of the 10-year BEC, a Filipino college graduate was usually regarded as an undergraduate, she said.

“It (10 -year BEC) is always raised when we try to push for the recognition of our Filipino professionals,” she added. – Rainier Allan Ronda