Senate OKs college accreditation

THE SENATE on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill allowing senior high school and technical vocational school graduates to earn bachelor’s degrees through credited work experience in their chosen field.

Twenty-three senators unanimously voted in favor of Senate Bill No. 2568, which tasks the Commission on Higher Education to carry out the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP), which provides an alternate path for Filipinos earn school credits for a college degree.

The program allows applicants who are at least 23 years old and have at least five years of work experience in an industry to pursue these degrees in their chosen industries.

Senator Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva told the Senate floor that he is aiming for 3,000 applicants to finish the program every year.

“In ETEEAP, all work experience whether formal or informal will have corresponding points or ‘credits’ to obtain a bachelor’s degree or higher in a shorter period of time,” he said in Filipino after the bill’s approval.

“Every experience we have teaches us a lesson, the concept of lifelong learning, which is clearly evident in ETEEAP.” — John Victor D. Ordoñez