THE UNIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) Los Baños will soon offer free review classes for students taking the board exam for agriculturists.
The review program, funded by Commission on Higher Education (CHED), aims to increase the number of licensed agriculturists in the Philippines. According to data, the passing rate for the agriculturist’s licensure exam has stagnated below 50% for a decade.
UP and other 15 state universities and colleges (SUCs) offering Bachelor of Science in Agriculture collaborated to be part of the program called “ExcelLEArate: A Review and Strategy Program to Empower Students for Licensure Examination for Agriculturists.”
The program also aims to make review classes more accessible to students from far-flung areas, according to a press release from CHED.
“Students in these areas fail the licensure tests because there are no review schools in the area or they have to travel far to attend review classes,” said CHED chairperson Popoy de Vera.
Only an average of 35.56%, or around a third, of test takers passed the board exam in the last five years or from 2019-2023, according to CHED.
Review classes for aspiring agriculturists typically cost P10,000 to P15,000, on top of living expenses during the duration of classes, De Vera said.
“We will use the expertise of the UP Los Baños to conduct free licensure classes for our agriculture students who are preparing for the LEA (Licensure Examination for Agriculturists),” he said.
There are 15 SUCs selected to participate in the online review program. They were chosen based on their performance in the annual board exam, geographical location, presence of Internet connectivity, and absence or presence of review centers within their areas.
The 15 SUCs are Basilan State College, Batanes State College, Capiz State University (Tapaz campus), Isabela State University (Palanan campus), Kalinga State University, Mindanao State University (Sulu campus), North Eastern Mindanao State University (San Miguel campus), Northwest Samar State University (San Jorge campus), Quirino State University, Romblon State University (Cajidiocan campus), Southern Luzon State University (Tayabas campus), Sulu State College, Tawi-Tawi Regional Agricultural College, University of Eastern Philippines (Catubig campus), and University of Rizal System (Tanay campus).
The review classes will start in June, four months before the Agriculturists Licensure Exam in October.
Agriculturists are professionals involved in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness.
