1.  The May 2002 Non-formal Education Accreditation and Equivalency (NFE A&E) Tests will be administered in approved designated Testing Centers on Sunday, 12 May 2002 to qualified Filipino citizens, Balikbayans and Foreigners, in the following regions.

Autonomous Region for Muslim – Maguindanao

Mindanao (ARMM)

Region I – La Union and Pangasinan II

                 Davao del Sur, Davao City and Sarangani

2.  The prospective NFE A&E examinees are Out-of-School Youth and Adults, aged 15 years and above (as of 12 May 2002) who are basically literate or have completed the Functional Education and Literacy Program (FELP). They should have been out-of-school for at least three (3) months on the date of the registration.

3.  The NFE A&E Tests are open to prospective examinees from either of the following categories:

4.  Any misrepresentation made by any registrant with regard to his/her identity, age and status as out-of- school will render the registration and the test result invalid.

5.  There will be two levels of the NFE A&E Tests – Elementary Level (approximately three hours and thirty minutes) and Secondary Level (approximately four hours and fifteen minutes) which are paper and pencil-based tests with multiple choice type questions based on the skills and competencies detailed in the NFE Curriculum Framework and an essay writing test. Both the Elementary and Secondary Level Tests will be administered simultaneously in the morning of 12 May 2002. The test will start at 7:30 a.m. Elementary and Secondary level examinees should be at the designated Testing Centers before 7:30 a.m. on 12 May, the day of the tests bringing with them the lower portion of the Test Registration Form for presentation to the Examiner.

6.  In order to qualify for an Elementary or Secondary Level Certificate, NFE A&E examinees will have to pass both the multiple-choice test and the writing composition assessment. Examinees who fail to meet the minimum requirements of either of these tests will not be eligible to receive an N FE A&E Certificate.

7.  There will absolutely be no change in the date of the NFE A&E Tests.

8.  No fees shall be paid by the test registrants/examinees.

9.  The Testing Centers, which also serve as Test Registration Centers, are public or private elementary or high schools which were designated/recommended by the Schools Division Superintendents. A complete list of approved Testing Centers is attached in Enclosure No. 2. No change of Testing Centers will be allowed unless absolutely necessary and with written approval of the Undersecretary for Regional Operations and Non-formal Education or the Director IV of the BNFE. The number of examinees per testing room is limited to only thirty (30) except for the last room which may have less than thirty examinees. Differently-abled examinees are assigned to a testing room in the ground floor nearest the gate and/or toilet.

10.  The Bureau of Non-formal Education (BNFE), in coordination with the Center for Educational Measurement (CEM), the National Education Testing and Research Center (NETRC), Health and Nutrition Center (HNC), Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE), Third Elementary Education Project (TEEP), Bureau of Secondary Education (BSE), Secondary Education Development Project (SEDIP), Literacy Coordinating Council (LCC), Office of the Planning Service (OPS), and the Regional Offices and Schools Divisions shall oversee this testing activity. The BNFE Director, Regional Directors and Schools Division Superintendents shall ensure the effective supervision and administration of these tests in their respective sphere of responsibility. All these offices shall assist the BNFE in the monitoring of the test administration. A one-day orientation with the aforecited personnel will be conducted at 1:30 in the afternoon of 8 May 2002 at the Bulwagan ng Karunungan, DepEd Complex, Pasig City.

11.  An Orientation on the Test Administration and the use of the Examiner’s Manual for Test Administration will be conducted by the DepEd Central Office and CEM staff in the Division Level for the Testing Center Administrators (school principal of the school serving as testing center). Examiners and Roving Proctors and other concerned staff on 10 May 2002, two days or one day before the test at the Di vision Office or designated testing centers. Principals serving as Testing Center Coordinators, teachers serving as examiners, and roving proctors who will attend the orientation will be reimbursed their travel expenses and will be provided with one snack and one lunch. They are advised to inspect the testing rooms where they are assigned, the day before the test and make the necessary board work and to ensure that only thirty (30) armchairs are in the room.

12.  Honorarium

All duly designated officials and staff who will serve during the conduct of the tests on 12 May 2002 will be given honorarium for the service rendered.

13.  Attached are the following Enclosures:

No. 1 – Guidelines on the Administration of the NFE A&E Tests of July 1 will apply

14.  Any breach of security and any violation of policies governing the administration of the NFE A&E Tests, such as allowing nonqualified persons to register and take the test, reading of the test booklets by persons other than the qualified examinees, photocopying of the test booklets, supplying answers to the test questions to the examinees and other related acts will be dealt with accordingly in accordance with the provisions of DECS Order No. 85, s. 1999.

15.  Immediate and wide dissemination of the contents of this Order to all concerned is desired.