DESPITE the endorsement of several sectors including the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), time seems to run out on the Senate passage of the House-approved measure strengthening the ladderized interface between the Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Higher Education.
A former congressman and now TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva has called for the passage of House Bill 4255, which had been approved in 3rd and final reading by the House of Representatives and now pending at the Senate.
HB 4255 aims to enable technical vocational (tech-voc) students a college degree by giving corresponding higher education credits to subjects/training programs acquired in tech-voc institutions and vice-versa, thus solving the problems of structural unemployment.
The proposed statute mandates the Commission on higher Education (CHED) and TESDA to formulate a unified qualification framework that will establish equivalency pathways and access ramps for ladderized education.
It will establish a permanent National Coordinating Technical Committee composed of CHED and TESDA personnel that will monitor and ensure the effective implementation of the ladderized education program (LEP).
The said measure will also direct the CHED and TESDA, in consultation with the industry, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), and other related agencies to identify priority disciplines and programs for ladderization taking into account the labor market realities.
Villanueva believes that technical vocational education and training (TVET) is by itself a viable career option as it is rapid, flexible, jobs-oriented, and competency-based.