WHAT IF THERE WERE COLLEGE GRADS ONLY WHO TOOK THE BOARD EXAMS AND PASSED

As I was reading the list of successful Guidance and Counseling licensure examinees published in the Manila Bulletin today, Sept. 2, 2008, the following thoughts dawned on me: What if there were indeed college graduates only, i.e., without having masters degrees, and they passed, would the schools dare to announce this in public, celebrating their school's products? This could be one implication of the letter we filed with the PRB, concerning the seeming disparity between what has been promoted and enshrined in RA 9258, and the PRC qualifications list distributed throughout the country. Or, since the exam was primarily for those with masters, would those who were only college graduates have found the licensure exams difficult, thereby wasting their money spent in applying to take the Board? If there were college graduates who took the test and passed, (there were 84 out of 140 who took the exams), what was the percentage of those with Masters who passed? If admitting college graduates only to take the exams were a "trial" to validate the exams, where does this lead us to? Are there guinea pigs in our midst then? And, if many college graduates can pass exams for those who have masters, what does this mean for our educational process? Serious questions huh?!

I just hope this matter can be given due clarification the sooner the better because until things are not clear and the air of doubt blowing in our midst, there will be "milking cows" in our midst. I mean, college graduates who apply to take the Board exams only to end up failing because they may not have taken up the exam matters in their course training, thereby virtually set up to fall in the failure trap. This should not continue, and restitution is necessary if injustice has taken place. We continue to be vigilant so that the Guidance and Counseling profession doesn't end up the negative talk of the town.

It would then be essential that those who are in the know collate data so we can handle this with the PRC and the PRB. It's still too early for the problem, and it should then be easier to solve it. Please email me (berngu721@gmail.com) about this if you have any information that can help settle the matter. Thanks. We do this for the sake of our profession that gives us pride and dignity in our work.