The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) is introducing another innovation in online information dissemination through the launching of the 2008 Philippine Standard Classification of Education (PSCED) on its website at http://www.nscb.gov.ph/activestats/psced.  The online 2008 PSCED which will be part of the NSCB ActiveStats is the latest revision on the country’s standard educational classification patterned after the 1997 ISCED. Included in the 2008 PSCED are new and emerging courses in the country while those educational programs that became obsolete or not anymore offered by the country’s higher education institutions (HEIs) have been deleted. New initiatives on education such as the ladderized programme and alternative learning system were likewise considered in the revision.

The online 2008 PSCED will be useful to those responsible in compiling statistics on education, either from censuses and surveys or from administrative records. It will also serve as a guide to various users, particularly those in the academe and those involved in job placement and recruitment services as well as labor exchange programs.

One of the new courses in the 2008 PSCED is molecular biology and bio-technology being offered by the University of the Philippines (UP) in both its bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. Another new area is the unified national qualifications framework of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills Development (TESDA). It establishes equivalency pathways and access ramps for a ladderized system, which allows easier transition and progression between technical-vocational education and skills (TVET) and higher education (HE). An example is TESDA’s “Caregiving NC II” and CHED’s “Bachelor/Master of Science in Nursing”.  On the other hand, alternative learning system enables individuals to continue their education into college by just passing a qualifying exam or equivalency test.

By using the online 2008 PSCED, web surfers get the detailed classification of all educational levels in the Philippine educational system. It aims to integrate the different classification schemes being used by the various agencies, for the purpose of standardizing and facilitating the compilation of education statistics as basis for educational planning, manpower training, labor market studies and other related activities.

For further information, please contact the Standards and Classifications Systems Division at telefax number 897-1773; or the National Statistical Information Center (NSIC) at 895-2767 or email info@nscb.gov.ph.

ROMULO A. VIROLA                
Secretary General

Contact Person:

Ruben V. Litan
Tel. No. (632) 890-8456
Email: rv.litan@nscb.gov.ph