MANILA, Philippines – Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairperson Prospero de Vera III revealed on Thursday, May 21, that several state universities and colleges (SUCs) have decided to waive entrance examinations for academic year 2020-2021, as the country deals with the coronavirus pandemic. 

During Thursday’s Senate hearing on the government’s coronavirus response, Senator Joel Villanueva asked De Vera how SUCs will conduct their entrance examinations in the middle of a pandemic. 

De Vera said several SUCs have decided to waive entrance examinations, and many of them will determine the students’ qualifications for admission based on their high school grades. 

“Ang marami ay iba-base na lang admission sa grades ng students at course na ina-applyan nila. May iba na may combination ng physical test at online test. May mga munisipyo na susunduin sila at dadalhin sila by batch sa eskuwelahan para kumuha ng test,” De Vera said. 

(Many schools will just base their admission on the grades of the students and the courses they apply for. There are municipalities that will fetch students by batch and bring them to schools for the entrance exams.)

De Vera, however, didn’t specify the names of the SUCs that will waive their entrance exams, and how many schools are involved.

On Thursday, De Vera again reiterated that the mass promotion of students is up to the colleges and universities. 

The government’s coronavirus task force earlier approved the CHED’s resolution to open classes based on the mode of teaching:

• colleges, universities using full online can open classes anytime;
• colleges, universities using “flexible” learning can open anytime in August 2020;
• colleges, universities using residential or face-to-face mode can open not earlier than September 1, 2020 in areas under general community quarantine;
• no residential or traditional face-to-face classes until August 31, 2020

“Flexible” learning for higher education institutions involves a combination of “digital and non-digital technology.” De Vera added that this does not necessarily require connectivity. (READ: During pandemic, student climbs a mountain to send class requirement)

To aid in the flexible learning approach, De Vera had asked the National Telecommunications Commission to provide colleges students free access to online educational resources.

As of Thursday, the Philippines has a total of 13,434 coronavirus cases, with 846 deaths and 3,000 recoveries. – Rappler.com