Senator Pangilinan want teacher to be tested in English proficiency

PASAY CITY, Philippines -- Senator Francis Pangilinan is recommending English proficiency exams for teachers to help cope with the demands of the call center industry.

The senator, however, said English proficiency needs to be increased further as the call center industry aims to increase from 200,000 workers to a million-strong workforce by 2010.

"According to industry executives I've talked to, only three to five out of 100 applicants in call centers successfully pass applications," Pangilinan said in his keynote address the at the Call Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) conference Thursday morning.

Pangilinan emphasized the need for linkages between the industry and the academic community in areas like curriculum development and teacher training.

"The government alone cannot help solve the country's education crisis.