Malacañang Palace, April 10, 2025 — Dr. Jestoni Babia, President of the City College of Cagayan de Oro and Regular Member of the Teacher Education Council (TEC), participated in the ceremonial signing of a Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) at the Malacañang Palace. The JMC aligns the teacher education curriculum with the Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (LEPT), addressing long-standing issues of misalignment and teacher specialization mismatches.
The TEC, under the leadership of Executive Director Dr. Jennie Jocson, facilitated the collaboration among CHED, DepEd, PRC, TESDA, and NCCA to harmonize education standards, services, and employment pathways for Filipino educators. Dr. Babia and his fellow council members have been instrumental in moving this initiative forward.
This historic reform responds to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive during the EDCOM 2 Sectoral Meeting and will be implemented by September 2025. The LEPT will be revised to include specialized exams for areas such as Early Childhood and Special Needs Education, improving relevance and quality in teacher assessment.
The JMC sets the stage for further reforms, including the pending amendments to the Teacher Professionalization Act (RA 7836), signaling a unified national effort to elevate the standards of Philippine education.