Frequently Asked Questions

The Information Technology Professionals Examination Council (ITPEC) is an organization that administers standardized IT examinations across multiple countries in Asia, including the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Mongolia, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. The exams are based on Japan’s national IT certification system (IPA).

The IT Passport Examination (IP) is an entry-level certification that tests fundamental knowledge of IT. It covers three broad areas:

• Strategy — Corporate and legal affairs, business strategy, systems strategy
• Management — Development technology, project management, service management
• Technology — Computer science fundamentals, hardware, software, databases, networks, security

It is ideal for students, professionals entering IT, or anyone who wants to validate their basic IT knowledge.

The Fundamental IT Engineer Examination (FE) is a more advanced certification aimed at IT engineers and developers. It covers deeper topics such as algorithms, data structures, programming, system architecture, databases, and network design. It is generally recommended after passing the IP exam, though it can be taken independently.

Both the IP and FE exams are multiple-choice. The IP exam typically consists of 100 questions to be answered within 165 minutes. The FE exam has a morning session (80 questions, 150 minutes) and an afternoon session with longer scenario-based questions.

The passing score for both the IP and FE exams is 60%. However, ITPEC uses weighted scoring, meaning not all questions contribute equally to your final score. The exact weighting formula has not been publicly disclosed by ITPEC, so it is not known precisely how individual questions or categories are weighted.

In practice, this means your raw percentage of correct answers may differ from your official weighted score. For example, you could answer 65% of questions correctly but end up with a weighted score above or below that number, depending on which questions you got right.

Because of this, we recommend aiming for at least 75% rather than just 60%. Since you can’t predict which questions carry more weight, the safest strategy is simply to learn the material thoroughly and aim to get as many questions right as possible, rather than trying to calculate the minimum you need.

In the Philippines, exam registration is handled by PhilNITS. Visit their website for registration dates, testing locations, fees, and requirements. Exams are typically held twice a year (April and October).

The Philippine National IT Standards Foundation (PhilNITS) is the organization that administers ITPEC exams in the Philippines. They handle registration, testing, and certification for Filipino IT professionals and students.

Ganbare! is a free, community-built review platform that helps students prepare for the PhilNITS / ITPEC IT Passport (IP) and Fundamental IT Engineer (FE) examinations. It provides practice exams using past ITPEC questions, detailed explanations, an AI study companion, and performance analytics.

The name “Ganbare” (頑張れ) is a Japanese word of encouragement meaning “Do your best!” or “Good luck!”

Yes, Ganbare! is and will always be completely free. There are no paid features, subscriptions, or hidden fees. If anyone asks you to pay for access, it is a scam.

No. This is an independent community hobby project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to PhilNITS, ITPEC, or any of their affiliated organizations. See our Disclaimer & Attribution page for full details.

All exam questions are sourced from publicly available past ITPEC examinations, used for educational purposes in accordance with ITPEC’s usage policy. Each question includes its original source (e.g., “2023 Spring, IP, Q1”).

No. Explanations, hints, and answer rationales were created by the developers of this website and are not part of the original examinations. While we strive for accuracy, these materials may contain errors and should not be treated as official guidance.

Yes, you need a free account to take exams, use study mode, and track your progress. Registration only requires your name and email. You can browse available exams on the home page without signing in.

After signing in, go to the Exams page to browse available exams. Select an exam and click Take Exam to start. You’ll answer multiple-choice questions within a time limit. You can navigate between questions freely, flag questions for review, and submit when you’re ready.

Yes! Your exam progress (answers, flagged questions, remaining time) is saved periodically. If you leave or lose connection during an exam, you can resume from where you left off via your Dashboard.

When the timer reaches zero, your exam is automatically submitted with whatever answers you’ve selected. Make sure to keep an eye on the timer!

Study Mode lets you review all questions from an exam at your own pace, with answers, explanations, and hints visible. It is unlocked after you complete an exam at least once. This is great for reviewing questions you got wrong or learning concepts in depth.

In Study Mode, each question has an AI chat assistant that understands the question context (including code, tables, and options). You can ask it to explain concepts, clarify why an answer is correct, or help you understand the topic better. Each conversation has a 10-message limit per question.

Yes! The My Stats page gives you a detailed overview of your performance, including:

• Score trends over time
• Overall pass rate and average score
• Category-based performance breakdown
• Comparative analysis across exams
• A leaderboard to compare with other students

Classrooms are study groups that let you prepare with classmates or colleagues. An admin creates a classroom and shares an invite code. Once you join, you can see classroom-specific analytics like group averages, pass rates, and how the classroom compares to the rest of the platform.

Some exams may shuffle the order of questions and answer choices randomly. This helps prevent memorizing answer patterns and encourages genuine understanding of the material. When an exam is shuffled, an exam code is generated for verification purposes.

The platform uses a 60% passing score based on your raw percentage of correct answers. Your results page will show whether you passed or failed based on this threshold.

Keep in mind that the actual ITPEC exam uses weighted scoring (see “What is the passing score?” above), so your score on this platform may not exactly match your official exam result. Treat your scores here as a useful estimate, not an exact prediction.

Yes, you can retake any exam as many times as you like. All your attempts are recorded, and your best score is tracked. Retaking exams is a great way to improve and measure your progress over time.