Two weeks ago, on Nov. 8, 2023 to be exact, Bryce McIntyre of San Andres sent the Tribune an email asking if Catanduanes is hitting record high temperatures these days.
He said the digital thermometer on his terrace at 1 p.m. that day was 31.5˚C in the shade, but he read that the record high for November in Catanduanes is 31.0˚C.
He attached a screenshot of a webpage showing the record high temperature for Catanduanes for this month to be 31.0˚C.
“Anyway, in light of all the predictions of global warming, I thought that there might be a story here. I often wonder what all this bad news portends for the province,” McIntyre remarked.
Records at the PAGASA Virac Synoptic Station showed that he was partially correct.
Twice this November, the temperature reached a maximum of 32.8˚C: on Nov. 10 and 12, both rainless days.
But this high temperature was not the highest at all in the history of Catanduanes for the month of November.
According to historical records of PAGASA’s Climate and Agromet Data Section, the hottest November day occurred on Nov. 3, 1908 at a high of 35.0˚C, comparable to temperatures during the summer months of April to May.
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In the recent November 2023 Civil Engineering Licensure Examination, graduates of the Catanduanes State University had a passing percentage for first timers of 42.55%, much higher than the 33.26% national passing rate.
Forty (40) out of 54 examinees from CatSU hurdled the tough board exam, prompting self-congratulations from management.
The local graduates’ performance was certainly laudable although the university has historically surpassed national passing rates in previous board exams.
But this recent performance would be disappointing compared to the CatSU graduates’ 75% overall rating in the previous CELE last April 2023 when the national passing percentage was 34.76%.
A look back at the last pre-pandemic CE board exam shows that in November 2019, 43 out of 68 CatSU civil engineering graduates passed the exam for an overall passing percentage of 63.24%.
It is interesting to note that a year before, in November 2018, CatSU’s performance in the CELE was even better: 73 out of 104 first time takers, for a passing percentage of 70.19%.
The big drop in board exam performance, it may be said, could be attributed to the online classes and mass promotion of students during the pandemic years when the COVID-19 protocols prohibited the holding of face-to-face classes.
Nothing on online classes can compare to the experience of actually interacting with one’s professor and classmates, especially in subjects involving complex formulas and lessons, especially when the weak or absent WiFi signals in remote areas prevented many students from going online.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) also allowed higher educational institutions to give passing grades to all its students, regardless of their class performance.
During the transition to the K-to-12 Basic Education Curriculum, four basic Mathematics subjects – Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry and Calculus – were removed from the Civil Engineering curriculum and transferred to Senior High School.
Given the differences in teaching quality in Senior HS and college, SHS graduates were reportedly “shocked” by the rigorous study required in the higher calculus subjects (Differential and Integral).
Five years ago, graduates say, four blocks of classes at CatSU’s College of Engineering got pruned to about a block by the time the students reached fourth year.
That time, it appears, is now past.
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BUYING A MERCEDES BENZ. At the conclusion of the trial, the trial found Hoiward Billingsly not guilty. His lawyer congratulated him, then handed him a bill.
Billingsly looked at the bill and gulped. “This says I have to pay ten thousand dollars now and five hundred dollars a month for the next five years! It sounds like I’m buying a Mercedez Benz!”
The lawyer smiled. “You are.”