PANABO CITY – Davao del Norte State College (DNSC) has been chosen among 1,553 higher education institutions (HEIs) nationwide to receive the Excellence in Quality Assurance in Teacher Education (EQUATE) Award by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). The ceremony was held on April 2, 2025, at the Manila Hotel.
The award was given by CHED to institutions who are consistent in upholding the highest of standards in ensuring the quality of pre-service teacher education programs, satisfying the commission’s minimum standards, program accreditation, and excellent performance in the Board of Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (BLEPT).
“We are giving this award to 103 higher education institutions offering secondary-level teacher education, that’s only 6.6% of HEIs in the country. If that’s not the best of the best, I don’t know what is… Our message to the Filipino people, to parents and students out there, is if you want to be a very good world-class teacher, enroll in these awarded higher education institutions,” said Dr. J. Prospero E. De Vera III, CHED Chair.
DNSC was among 16 HEIs from the Davao Region recognized at the event. College President Joy M. Sorrosa and Vice President for Academic Affairs Girley S. Gumanao accepted the award on behalf of the institution.
Before the awarding, CHED invited Dr. Carlos Vargas-Tames, Head of the International Task Force Secretariat of UNESCO, to deliver a keynote lecture and Prof. Edizon A. Fermin, Chair of the Technical Panel for Teacher Education, to discuss the commission’s strategic directions in Philippine Teacher Education.
