SENATOR Imee Marcos on Tuesday warned that education graduates face a future without jobs because of their failure to take the licensure examinations for professional teachers.

Marcos called it “utterly inexcusable” that the Civil Service Commission has not yet shifted to an online mode of conducting the LEPT.

Last September’s exam was the only one scheduled for this year. It will be followed by exams in January, March, and June in 2022.

However, the registration for the exams scheduled for next year has been closed, so 2021 education graduates as well as previous degree holders who did not sign up will have to wait for their turn in 2023, unless an online LEPT will be scheduled sooner.

Marcos, who will defend the CSC’s 2022 budget before the Senate, said that some 200,000 government posts including those for public school teachers remain unfilled. She added that holding the LEPT online would pave the way for more applicants to apply for jobs in government-run educational institutions.

“We are delaying job creation and may even be causing a shortage of teachers. The solution is to fully digitize the LEPT to make it pandemic-proof now and in the future,” the senator said.

“The Career Executive Service Board and other professional regulatory boards have succeeded in conducting online exams. Surely, the CSC can modify those templates for the LEPT,” she asserted.

“Let’s not impair our capacity to provide crucial government services, specially in education and public health, during this ongoing crisis,” Marcos added.