Social Workers Licensure Exam Syllabi Adoption

Section 11, Article IV of Republic Act No. 4373, as amended requires applicants for registration as social workers to undergo a written examination, except as otherwise specially allowed by the Act.
Section 13, Article III of Republic Act No. 4373, as amended provides that the examination for the practice of Social Work consists of a written test whose scope is determined and prescribed by the Board, taking into account the curriculum of all legally constituted social work schools in the Philippines.
Commission Memorandum Circular No. 08 (Series of 1992) directs every professional regulatory board to prescribe and adopt a syllabus for every subject in the licensure examinations.
The resolution adopts syllabi after consultation with the National Association for Social Work Education, Inc. (NASWEI).

The resolution prescribes, adopts, and issues the Social Workers Licensure Examination Syllabi (Annex “A”).
The syllabus contains the concepts or topics with the corresponding level of knowledge or proficiency used to form the basis of licensure examination questions.
The resolution provides that every syllabus with the specified concepts/topics and knowledge/proficiency level serves as the basis for the questions to be inputted into the question bank.
The resolution requires use of prescribed books and readings used in schools/colleges of social workers as guides and references in formulating the syllabi.

The resolution issues the Social Workers Licensure Examination Syllabi (Annex “A”) as the prescribed syllabus for the Social Workers Licensure Examination.
The syllabus is tied to the written examination requirement for registration as a social worker under Section 11, Article IV of Republic Act No. 4373, as amended.
The resolution links the syllabus’s scope to the curriculum of social work courses offered in legally constituted schools in the Philippines through the rule in Section 13, Article III of Republic Act No. 4373, as amended.
The syllabus is structured so that its concepts/topics and proficiency levels determine question coverage for the question bank.

The Board must widely disseminate and circularize the resolution to all schools/colleges offering the course of Social Work.
The circularization obligation covers institutions offering Social Work education in order to ensure the syllabus is communicated to affected schools/colleges.

The resolution provides that its effectivity is reckoned upon approval by the Commission.
Effectivity occurs upon approval and upon publication in the Official Gazette or any newspaper of general circulation, whichever is earlier, but only after fifteen (15) days following that publication.
The resolution additionally requires that effectivity occur on a date that is three (3) months before the scheduled licensure examination.
The resolution therefore sets a combined timing mechanism tied to Commission approval, publication, 15 days after publication, and a 3-month pre-exam date.

The resolution was adopted on April 19, 1994 by the Board Chairman and members, with their signatures shown.
The resolution was approved by the Commissioner and Associate Commissioners through their signatures shown.