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| Hopeful examinees get ready to plunge into the Licensure Examination for Teachers held at the Delia Memorial School in Kowloon. |
By Vir B. Lumicao
Aspiring instructors expressed mixed feelings when they emerged from the special Licensure Examination for Teachers held at the Delia Memorial School in Kowloon on Sept 24.
According to staff of the Philippines’ Professional Regulation Commission who administered the test, this year’s LET went on smoothly. The PRC team was assisted by members of the National Organization of Professional Teachers - Hong Kong.
Some examinees queried by The SUN said the exam was tough, particularly when it came to the various tests for their majors, as many of the questions were unexpected. But others said they were optimistic they would pass.
A total of 460 would-be teachers started arriving at the exam venue, by bus or taxi, as early as 4:30am, making sure they arrived there before the 6am deadline set by the PRC.
The 215 elementary-level examinees were distributed in 10 fourth-floor classrooms while the 245 secondary-level takers were packed in the auditorium.
When the first part of the exam, General Education, got under way at 8am after the general instructions and filling out of forms, all but one of the expected examinees had shown up, PRC exam supervisor Gregorio Delloro told The SUN.
By the time the school cleaners began preparing to clean up the venues at 6:30pm, all but a handful of math majors were still rushing to finish the test.
“Mahirap po,” Rosielyn Parreno replied when asked by The SUN about how the exam went. She said the test questions had not been anticipated in the intense review.
“Siyempre mahirap, lalo na yung sa major,” Lorilyn Orozco chimed in as the two Filipino majors followed the first few who emerged from the venue at around 4:20pm.
But both women said they were confident of passing the test, which would earn them a license as professional teachers back in the Philippines.
“I will go back home and teach if I pass the exam. Opo naman, kasi pinag-aral ka ng almost five years tapos maghuhugas ka lang ng pinggan,” said Parreno, who said it was her purpose for taking the exam after coming here to work as a domestic helper five years ago. “Uuwi para doon na kami magsisilbi.”
Karen Gay Fernandez, who majored in technology and livelihood education, found the test in her major very difficult because she was not familiar with plumbing, masonry, fisheries, and other skills which figured in the test questions.
Asked about her chances of passing, she replied jokingly: “Babalik ako next year.”
Delloro said the examinees were possibly confused because this year the PRC decided to bunch the examinees according to their majors or the focus of their studies. He said perhaps those who found the exams hard were shifters from other disciplines, say, accounting, in which case they would be placed under the math category.
The PRC team, led by Gina Emperado, along with NOPT HK members, arrived at the site at around 5:30am on Sunday to prepare the test papers and forms to be filled up by the examinees as soon as Delia’s gates opened at 6am.
The day before, the same group was at the school for the briefing of the 42 NOPT members who were deputized by the PRC as proctors and watchers.
Gemma Lauraya, NOPT HK president and floor supervisor, said she was hopeful the examinees would show better results this year despite having to travel in the wee hours to the test center by any available public transport.
She said the would-be elementary teachers were luckier than their secondary-level peers because they were assigned to the more comfortable 25-seater Delia classrooms. The future high school teachers, in contrast, were seated almost elbow to elbow in the school’s auditorium.
Delloro said the results would be known in about a month.
The PRC team was led by Gina Emperado, coordinator and building supervisor. Other team members were Delloro; Crescencia Bartolome, supply coordinator, and Marichor Empedrad, disbursing officer and attendance supervisor.
