Press Release
March 23, 2007

On DepEd findings that over 50% of graduating
students in high school are unfit for college

VILLAR: MAKE HIGH SCHOOL
GRADUATES FIT FOR GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT

Opting to look at the glass as half-full rather than half-empty, Senate President Manny Villar says there is a good way of turning the results of the National Career Assessment Examination (NCAE) to the examiners and the countrys advantagemake high school graduates employable.

Based on the NCAE results, out of the 1,305,211 examinees who took the exams777,236 or 59.55% garnered low scores in the general scholastic aptitude test of the exam. Only 49,066 or 3.76% got high scores while 478,909 or 36.69% showed a "moderate aptitude" for college.

Villar is happy about the fact that examinees scored well in the entrepreneurial skills component of the NCAE. Villar is a vocal proponent of entrepreneurship. In fact, he authored Senate Bill 509 or the Entrepreneurial Education Promotion Act that seeks for the inclusion of entrepreneurial education in schools.

Given the high unemployment rate in our country, I have always maintained that we should direct the youth or students in taking courses that would provide them with jobs right after graduation or be entrepreneurs. Besides this, I also believe that we should provide high school students with skills and know-how that will equip them enough to get employed after graduation, cites Villar.

Villar further cites, We should face the reality that increasing number of families cannot afford to send their children to college, many are already thankful if their sons or daughters would graduate from high school. Thus, we should empower high school graduates to be fit for gainful employment if they choose not or cannot afford or are not fit to get a college degree.

Indeed in the Technical-Vocational Aptitude (TVA) portion of NCAE, a total of 711,526 or 54.51% got scores indicating a high aptitude for tech-voc programs; 468,901 or 35.93% with moderate aptitude; and a mere 9.56% percent with low aptitude.

According to Villar, We should take advantage of the high school graduates aptitude for technical and vocational skills. These are highly in demand in the market, there are many jobs fit for them. Having a college degree does not assure anyone with a good job.

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