Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
The Manila Times Internet Edition | TOP STORIES > 3 deaf students make RP education history
Three deaf out-of-school youth made history on Sunday when they took the Accreditation and Equivalency test given by the Department of Education.
Macie Estores, Paul Jester Pineda and Quincy Heinz Samonte, all deaf, were among the 250 who registered to take the test at the Cavite National High School, according to Soledad Jaime, coordinator of the Education department’s Alternative Learning System at the high school and the testing registration officer for the examination.
Jaime said this is the first time that the deaf took an Accreditation-and-Equivalency test since it was started in 1981 during the time of then Education Minister Onofre Corpuz.
But it was not easy for the three before they were allowed to take the test.
Originally, 10 deaf students registered to take the test but only Estores, Pineda and Samonte passed the initial screening. The three underwent a 10-month training to prepare them for the examination.
“The Accreditation-and-Equivalency test certificate is comparable to the elementary certificate and high-school diploma whereby an elementary school student who passes the examination can apply for entrance to high school. On the other hand, a high school student who passes the examination can apply for entrance to college,” said Director Carolina Guerrero of the department’s Bureau of Alternative Learning System in a statement.
The three who took the test are between 18 and 20 years old and were past the high-school age. They were trained and guided by their mentor, Leopoldo Quilaquiga, who wrote “Good English for the Deaf (and the Hearing, too!).”
Another problem was taking the test itself. Deaf people are taught English-based sign language. The problem was that most of the questions in the Accreditation-and-Equivalency test were written in Pilipino.
Quilaquiga acted as the interpreter of the three during the test. He translated the questions from Pilipino to English so the three could understand them.
After the test, Jaime told The Manila Times that she hopes that the three would pass.
If they pass the 100-item test, Estores and Samonte are planning to enroll in college while Pineda will apply for a job at the Export Processing Zone Authority in Rosario, Cavite.
The Education department administered the test in 188 divisions nationwide this February. Under the rules, qualified to register in the elementary level are elementary-school dropouts who are not enrolled in June of the current school year, 11 years old and above, and those who were born before December 1997. Qualified for the secondary level are high-school dropouts who are not enrolled in June of the current school year, 15 years old and above, and those who were born before December 1993. Non-passers in previous Alternative-Learning-System and Accreditation-and-Equivalency tests, and learners and those who have completed the Alternative-Learning-System programs are also qualified to register.
According to the Education department, of the 51,979 who took the Accreditation-and-Equivalency test last year, 12,424 or 24 percent, passed. Of the 51,979 registrants, 10,141 were from Metro Manila.
Three deaf out-of-school youth made history on Sunday when they took the Accreditation and Equivalency test given by the Department of Education.
Macie Estores, Paul Jester Pineda and Quincy Heinz Samonte, all deaf, were among the 250 who registered to take the test at the Cavite National High School, according to Soledad Jaime, coordinator of the Education department’s Alternative Learning System at the high school and the testing registration officer for the examination.
Jaime said this is the first time that the deaf took an Accreditation-and-Equivalency test since it was started in 1981 during the time of then Education Minister Onofre Corpuz.
But it was not easy for the three before they were allowed to take the test.
Originally, 10 deaf students registered to take the test but only Estores, Pineda and Samonte passed the initial screening. The three underwent a 10-month training to prepare them for the examination.
“The Accreditation-and-Equivalency test certificate is comparable to the elementary certificate and high-school diploma whereby an elementary school student who passes the examination can apply for entrance to high school. On the other hand, a high school student who passes the examination can apply for entrance to college,” said Director Carolina Guerrero of the department’s Bureau of Alternative Learning System in a statement.
The three who took the test are between 18 and 20 years old and were past the high-school age. They were trained and guided by their mentor, Leopoldo Quilaquiga, who wrote “Good English for the Deaf (and the Hearing, too!).”
Another problem was taking the test itself. Deaf people are taught English-based sign language. The problem was that most of the questions in the Accreditation-and-Equivalency test were written in Pilipino.
Quilaquiga acted as the interpreter of the three during the test. He translated the questions from Pilipino to English so the three could understand them.
After the test, Jaime told The Manila Times that she hopes that the three would pass.
If they pass the 100-item test, Estores and Samonte are planning to enroll in college while Pineda will apply for a job at the Export Processing Zone Authority in Rosario, Cavite.
The Education department administered the test in 188 divisions nationwide this February. Under the rules, qualified to register in the elementary level are elementary-school dropouts who are not enrolled in June of the current school year, 11 years old and above, and those who were born before December 1997. Qualified for the secondary level are high-school dropouts who are not enrolled in June of the current school year, 15 years old and above, and those who were born before December 1993. Non-passers in previous Alternative-Learning-System and Accreditation-and-Equivalency tests, and learners and those who have completed the Alternative-Learning-System programs are also qualified to register.
According to the Education department, of the 51,979 who took the Accreditation-and-Equivalency test last year, 12,424 or 24 percent, passed. Of the 51,979 registrants, 10,141 were from Metro Manila.
