BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Applicants may now avail of computerized IELTS (International English Language Testing System) in Bacolod City, with many test schedules to choose from.
This was after the launching yesterday of CD (Computer Delivered) – IELTS shared laboratory, as a result of partnership between the Negros Occidental Language and Information Technology Center (NOLITC) and IDP Philippines at Negros Cyber Center in Bacolod City.
IELTS is an international standardized test of English language proficiency for international study, migration and work.
The launch was attended yesterday by IDP Country Director Jose Miguel Habana and NOLITC Vocational School Administrator, Ma. Cristina Orbecido, witnessed and attended by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Provincial Administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz.
Habana said that IELTS on computer uses both expert testing specialists and digital technology to empower test takers to achieve their best result.
He added that the IDP-NOLITC IELTS shared lab allows test takers to book their IELTS test at the venue, have access to numerous IELTS test preparation and review materials, and take the test on computer.
Orbecido said this is the first ever partnership between the IDP and a local government in the whole Visayas.
Lacson said that the provincial government is proud to open the first shared lab in the Visayas that will provide computer delivered IELTS Exam.
Noting that this innovative program of the provincial government through NOLITC and IDP is the 6th CD-IELTS shared lab in the Philippines, Lacson said this development that makes IELTS more accessible will greatly aid Negrenses and those from nearby provinces, in the pursuit of their study, work, or migration goals.
Habana said that IELTS on computer offers a convenient way of completing the reading, listening and writing parts of the test, together with the Video Call Speaking (VCS) test, with an IELTS examiner, “allowing test takers to complete the entire test in only one day.”
We are innovating our test, so technology enhances human connection, not replaces it. After all, language is human, testing should be as well, he said.
IDP, a global leader in international education services, has been operating in more than 50 countries for more than five decades, while NOLITC, a government-run Language and IT Center in Western Visayas, serves as a training ground for young professionals who seek to improve their capabilities and skills in the fast growing BPO and Call Center industry in the province.
Lacson thanked the IDP for the partnering with the provincial government, as he also lauded NOLITC, under the leadership of Orbecido, for the pioneering initiatives to aid Negrenses in treading their career paths and options.
Stressing that education remains a top priority of Abanse Negrense development agenda, Lacson vowed to continue the expansion of its education-related programs, to make it more inclusive and accessible to all sectors, particularly the underprivileged.*
