Conduct of the 2021 National Qualifying Examination for School Heads (NQESH)
Passing the National Qualifying Examination for School Heads (NQESH), also known as Principals’ Test, is one of the requirements for appointment and reclassification of all aspiring applicants to the Principal and Assistant Principal positions in all public elementary and secondary schools, pursuant to the following issuances:
a. DepEd Order (DO) No. 42, s. 2007, titled The Revised Guidelines on Selection, Promotion and Designation of School Heads;
b. DO 97, s. 2011, titled Revised Guidelines on the Allocation and Reclassification of School Head Positions; and
c. DO 41, s. 2016, titled Additional Guidelines to DepEd Order No. 19, s. 2016 (Guidelines on the Organizational Structures and Staffing Patterns of Stand-alone and Integrated Public Senior High Schools (SHS).
In this regard, the Department of Education (DepEd), through the Bureau of Human Resource and Organizational Development (BHROD), shall administer the 2021 National Qualifying Examination for School Heads (NQESH) on June 21, 2022. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the examination shall be administered nationwide through a secured online platform. A mock exam shall be conducted prior to the actual examination to familiarize the examinees on the platform. Details of which shall be sent to the examinee’s DepEd email address.
Aspiring school heads, regardless of their current positions, are qualified to take the NQESH, provided that the applicants meet the qualification requirements and has acquired any of the following experience requirements as of March 31, 2022, consistent with DO 39, s. 2007 titled Modified Qualification Standards for the Positions of Head Teachers and Principals:
a. One year as Head Teacher, or
b. Two years as Teacher-in-Charge, or
c. Two years as Master Teacher, or
d. Teaching experience for Five years as follows:
i. Teacher III or other Teacher positions with same salary grade; or
ii. Incumbent public school teacher who has managerial and supervisory experience in a DepEd recognized private institution or Commission on Higher Education (CHED) recognized higher education institution; or
iii. Aggregate experience as Head Teacher, Teacher-in-Charge (TIC), Master Teacher, and Teacher III.
However, due to the variation of alert level systems in the provinces, the 2021 NQESH online examination shall only be limited to a total number of six thousand (6,000) examinees nationwide. Each region, therefore, shall only be provided slots based on the number of unfilled Principal 1 positions (see Enclosure No. 1). Thus, DepEd regional offices (ROs) shall refer to the following order of priority for consideration in the selection of their final list of examinees:
a. Incumbent Officer-in-Charge (OIC)/TIC for at least two years or Head Teacher for at least one year of a public elementary or secondary school with designation or Special Order duly signed and issued by the Schools Division Superintendent;
b. In case of remaining slots after considering Item 4.a, only then that the applications of the following may be accommodated:
i. Qualified applicants under item 3 of this Memorandum, and
ii. Incumbent OICs/TICs not meeting the required experience.
Application will be done online through the NQESH Online Application System following the schedule below.
a. For qualified applicants under 4.a
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| April 25-29, 2022 | Online Application |
| April 25-May 2, 2022 | Schools Division Office (SDO) Evaluation |
| April 25-May 4, 2022 | RO Validation |
b. For applicants under 4,b
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| May 5-7, 2022 | Online application |
| May 5-8, 2022 | SDO Evaluation |
| May 5-10, 2022 | RO Validation |
The final list of examinees must be submitted through the official email address of BHROD-HRDD through email at [email protected] on or before May 17, 2022, using this subject format RO[No.] 2021NQESH Final-List-of-Examinees.
For guidance in the application process and other matters relative to the conduct of the 2021 NQESH, enclosed also in this Memorandum are the following:
| Enclosure No. 2 | Technical Working Group Composition and Responsibilities, |
| Enclosure No. 3 | Online Application Process, |
| Enclosure No. 4 | NQESH Online Application System User’s Guide, |
| Enclosure No. 5 | Processing of Application and Certificate of Eligibility, and |
| Enclosure No. 6 | Utilization of the Examination Fee. |
The examination shall cover conceptual and situational critical thinking questions relevant to the role of a school head aligned with standards set by the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads (PPSSH) as stipulated in DO 024 s. 2020 or the National Adoption and Implementation of the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads. It shall serve as a mechanism to safeguard and gauge the competency and quality of the aspiring school leaders in DepEd schools.
To determine who will qualify for the next stage of the selection process for a Principal I position, an order of merit will be used. The procedure will not employ usual pass or fail scores rather will identify ranking of the examinees based on their ability level vis a vis the difficulty level of the test items.
The 2021 NQESH official results, including the details of the new merit system shall be released through a DepEd Memorandum. All examinees shall be notified of their individual results through their respective DepEd email addresses.
DepEd values the credibility and integrity of the examination. The agency is not, in any way, affiliated with individuals or institutions offering and providing review sessions. A warning is given to all applicants against individuals or organizations which claim to have access to the content of the examination. Applicants, individuals, or organizations who shall have direct or indirect request for test content and/or perform an act of bribery (monetary or gifts) to Central Office, RO, and SDO employees shall be subjected to investigation and/or filing of appropriate administrative case.
For more information, please contact the Bureau of Human Resource and Organizational Development-Human Resources Development Division, 5th Floor, Mabini Building, Department of Education Central Office, DepEd Complex, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City through email address at [email protected].
Immediate dissemination of this Memorandum is desired.
Read DepEd Memorandum No. 33, s. 2022 for more details.
