Licensure tests feat of provincial schools

The shortage of certified public accountants (CPA) in the country has been eased recently with the passing of 3,155 examinees in the May 2024 CPA licensure examination.

A graduate from the University of the Cordilleras and another from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Manila (PUP) garnered the highest rating of 90.83 percent.

Majority of this year’s top 10 passers are graduates of schools based in the provinces which include, among others, Binalbagan Catholic College, Liceo de Cagayan University, Kingfisher School of Business and Finance (of Dagupan City), University of San Jose Recoletos and Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology.

Aside from the PUP, graduates of Metro Manila-based Technological Institute of the Philippines, De La Salle University-Manila and University of the Philippines-Diliman also made the list.

The outstanding performance of graduates from provincial schools in government licensure exams has been consistent in recent years. Those schools have given iconic schools in Metro Manila a run for their money, so to speak, in topping those tests.

No longer are “promdi” (an abbreviation of the phrase “from the province”) graduates considered less than academically trained than their counterpart in so-called Imperial Manila.

This is clear proof that there is a vast reservoir of talent in the provinces and it is being shown in the results of licensure tests in various professional fields.

Thanks to the internet and other state-of-the-art technology, tertiary-level educational, research and training materials, including the services of highly skilled lecturers, which were once available only in Metro Manila, can be accessed by schools in different parts of the country.

Unlike their counterpart in the big city, students in provincial schools seldom, if at all, have to contend with agonizing daily commute due to heavy traffic, mass strikes and other urban disturbances.

Thus, they have more time to pursue their academic chores with minimal outside disruptions. What’s more, they have fewer financial worries as the cost of living in their place is, by and large, a lot less expensive compared to Metro Manila.

In light of the strong demand for CPAs in the country these days, the new CPAs can look forward to more employment opportunities in audit or accounting firms.

They may be green horns in the profession and would require close supervision for now, but having passed a four-section, 16-hour assessment process gives reason to be optimistic that they would be able to meet the requirements of their work in due time.

A similar, more welcoming work environment may not await some licensure test passers in other professions who graduated from schools that are not based in Metro Manila or from prestigious schools in highly urbanized cities.

It is common knowledge that the school affiliation of the person in charge of getting new hires in a company has a strong influence in the hiring process. All qualifications of job applicants fair and equal, his or her school spirit often tends to make him or her lean in favor of a fellow alumnus.

This disposition (or bias) invariably puts graduates of provincial schools, in particular those that are less known or hardly read about, at a huge disadvantage in spite of their qualification for the job.

When local job opportunities are hard to come by, the inevitable result is for many of those graduates to relocate to countries that consider their talent, not the name of the school where they earned their degree, as the deciding factor for employment.

With the consistent exemplary performance in licensure exams of graduates of schools outside Metro Manila, a paradigm shift in the appreciation of their qualification for employment or engagement of their services is clearly in order.

It is evident academic excellence spans the entire country and it is there for the asking for fruitful use.

Move over Metro Manila schools, the days when your graduates dominated licensure exams are over. INQ

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