MANILA — Ateneo de Manila University said Tuesday it would no longer conduct an entrance test for the next school year as higher education institutions turn to new ways of selecting students due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"We know there is a lot going on and we don’t want to create more unneeded drama and stress. There will be no Ateneo College Entrance Test for School Year 2021-2022," the university said on its Facebook page.

Ateneo has formed a committee that would be responsible for the selection of new students, according to the general admission criteria posted on its website.

"[The committee] bases its decisions principally on the applicant’s past academic performance, on the recommendations of teachers, essay, and on information written down on the application form," it said.

Still no schedule for UPCAT

Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines has yet to announce the schedule for its college admission test, taken annually by thousands of applicants.

UP Diliman Academic Calendar for AY 2020-2021

See the PDF file here: https://t.co/6ZRJTwZt7c pic.twitter.com/sAXbmwrCTX

— UP Diliman (@Official_UPD) August 24, 2020

UP recently released its calendar for Academic Year 2020 to 2021, which indicated that the university's admissions office has yet to set dates for the UPCAT.

CHED Chairman Prospero de Vera earlier said the country's premier state university was having problems in administering the entrance exam, which was not designed to be taken online.

• 'Problematic,' says CHED of online college, university entrance exams during pandemic

To avoid exposing applicants to the risk of getting COVID-19, several colleges and universities have decided to waive entrance examinations and instead assess students' admission based on their high school grades.

• Several colleges, universities waive entrance exams due to COVID-19 crisis: CHED