THIS IS the batch with the most number of takers and consequently the most number of passers in recent history for the licensure examination for agriculturists at MMSU.

Fifty graduates recorded a 51.02 percent passing in their licensure examination administered July 23-25. Ninety-eight took the exam. Last year, 61 took the test; in 2011, 34; and in 2010, 27.

Their performance was higher than the national passing of 35.22 percent. Graduates have been consistently registering a higher passing mark than the national figure but this year’s batch recorded the highest in three years.

According to Dr. Artemio B. Alcoy, CAFSD dean, this year’s relatively high performance may be attributed to the Technical Enhancement Competency Program (TCEP) incorporated in the BS Agriculture curriculum which started to be implemented last school year. Here, fourth year students are required to take two subjects of three units each – one subject in the first semester and another in the second semester – to enhance their competencies in preparation for their licensure examination. Students who fail in said subjects are not able to graduate; hence not also able to take the licensure examination. In essence, the TCEP was conceived to intensify graduates’ readiness in their board examination. This year’s examinees were the pilot batch of takers of the said program.

Aside from the TCEP, supplementary review classes were also conducted by the college to all the more prepare the examinees.

“It’s in the material,” Dr. Zenaida H. Esteban, the newly appointed board examination review coordinator in the college, also said this when asked where she can possibly attribute this year’s examination performance. True enough, two from batch 2013 graduated with Latin honors: Jeferson M. Campos and Jhon Philipp R. Dumale, both cum laude. The college last produced its cum laude in 2008 in the person of James Peter C. Icalia, now a faculty member.

Graduates of previous batches who have not taken the licensure examination also took the test and successfully passed contributing to the overall high performance.