THE House of Representatives early on Monday approved on third and final reading the proposed law institutionalizing the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP), which, if enacted, would allow undergraduate professionals to get a bachelor’s degree.
Introduced as House Bill (HB) 9015, or the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program Act, the proposal allows working professionals who, for some reason or other, were unable to complete their program but “earn a bachelor’s degree without going through the traditional schooling method,” Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said.
The House leader said the program was first introduced in 1996 via Executive Order 330 signed by the later former president Fidel V. Ramos.
ETEEAP aims to strengthen the system of academic equivalency and accreditation at the college level, including the validation of the knowledge and expertise derived by senior high school graduates, post-secondary technical-vocational graduates, and college undergraduate students from relevant work experiences and high-level, non-formal training to harness their full potential.
The proposal allows senior high school graduates, post-secondary technical-vocational graduates, and college undergraduates who have become professionals with an aggregate of five or more years of work experience to convert these into a college or university diploma.
It said the knowledge, experience, achievements, and skills gained by actual work are then deducted from the number of units or credits that one is required to earn. But the undergraduate professional is also required to meet the terms laid out under Section 10 of Republic Act 11510, otherwise known as the “Alternative Learning System Act” with regard to certification from the Department of Education (DepEd).
To qualify for the ETEEAP, the applicant must be a Filipino citizen, at least 23 years of age, with at least five years work experience, and must submit the following documentary requirements: (a) duly-accomplished ETEEAP Application form; (b) certification of having passed the Accreditation and Equivalency Assessment conducted by the DepEd; (c) employment certificates; (d) birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority; (e) resume, curriculum vitae, or personal data sheet; (f) service record or employment certificate signed by the employer; (g) job description signed by the employer; and (h) transcript of records.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) is the lead agency in the implementation of the program.
