Beneath the Numbers

Previously, Dr. Rey Castro mentioned of exceptionality that drives the exclusive and ‘exclusivist’ schools to produce topnotchers in various national licensure examinations. He also proceeded to share the formula on why UM – an open education and non-exclusivist school – is producing topnotchers as well. The university employs qualified and competent teachers; maintains well-equipped laboratories and facilities; provides comprehensive student support services; continuously submits to external quality evaluations; conducts benchmarking with other HEIs in the country and abroad to learn best practices and innovations; and provides generous cash incentives to students to reward ‘exemplary outcomes’ in the licensure examinations. The formula is actually common in many schools. But what makes UM stand out from them?

A cursory look at the latest report from the Philippine Regulatory Commission (PRC), the country’s agency constitutionally mandated to administer all national licensure examinations (except the bar for lawyers) is a telling tell-tale.

As of April 2024, PRC bared the country produced 12 Top 1 placers in different licensure examinations for the year. A closer look revealed that of the 12, only UM in Davao produced three Top 1s. The University of the East (UE) produced two but come from different campuses. The rest of the schools produced only single Top 1.

Of the 12, UM is the only one coming from Davao and Region XI, and one of the two coming from Mindanao (the other from Notre Dame-Tacurong). Only UM also produced Top 1 in Mechanical Engineering, Master Plumbing, and Real Estate. In the field of Engineering, both UM and Cebu Institute of Technology University produced the Top 1.

Further, of the 12 Top 1s representing 10 schools (UM counts for three), five come from Manila; one from Luzon; two in Visayas; and two in Mindanao. Previous records reveal a pattern of schools coming from outside Manila (the so-called schools from the provinces) that are dominating licensure examination results, including topnotchers from Top 1 to Top 10. Manila schools – where exclusive, expensive, elitist schools locate – do not and cannot anymore claim of dominating exceptionality in these fields. Parents and students do not have to spend huge to go to Manila for these schools; ‘provincial schools’ now compete.

Interestingly, of the 10 schools, only the Isabela State University in Region 2 is a state university; it is also the only public school as it is a government-owned university. All the nine other schools are private higher education institutions (PHEIs). SUCs have the advantage over PHEIs because of the government support they annually get through the General Appropriation’s Act. SUCs have regular financial streams regardless of their student enrolment, and thus can naturally provide support for student learning and performance. PHEIs solely depend on tuition from student enrolment. But regardless, PHEI graduates can compete very well in licensure examinations despite the natural edge of SUC graduates.

More interestingly, all the 10 schools are non-sectarian schools (SUCs are naturally public, non-sectarian as they are government owned). In the Top 1s released by the PRC, none of the 10 schools are sectarian-owned, or owned by the Church or religious orders (like ADMU, LaSalle, UST and the like). Non-sectarian schools are owned and managed by laymen, who are composed of businessmen, educators, and professionals. It used to be that sectarian schools (tax free and get support from their religious orders) dominate the exceptional performance in education, including licensure examination results. But this has been disproven – and demystified – over time. Students and graduates of non-sectarian PHEIs can compete.

But beneath the numbers, topnotchers need to prove themselves beyond the prestige. Success in life is never determined by examination placement. Success depends on what happens to the placers after the examination. Many graduates who are not top placers in licensure examinations turn out to be even more successful and doing good in their profession.

So what makes UM stand out from the others? UM can compete and demystifies the notion that only exclusive and ‘exclusivist’ schools produce topnotchers.

The PRC report is not even complete; it only records the Top 1s for the first quarter of the year up to April. There are still eight months more in 2024, with more licensure examinations to go. The numbers still continue to grow!