SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian wants government to include in its proposed 2024 national budget funding for the “certification” of senior high school graduates who took the technical-vocational-livelihood (TVL) track to help them find jobs.
Gatchalian said an estimated P1.52 billion will be needed if some 400,000 TVL learners will be given certificates, a move which he said would address the “dead end for senior high school graduates.”
Contrary to the vision of the K to 12 curriculum program, Gatchalian said TVL graduates have not been given employment opportunities.
He noted that out of the 486,278 TVL graduates for academic year (AY) 2019-2020, only 127,796 took the national certification test, of which 124,970 passed.
The passing rate among those who took the national certification was 97.8 percent but the certification rate among TVL graduates for that school year was only 25.7 percent.
He said the certification rate was even lower for SY 2020-2021 with 473,911 total TVL graduates, of which 32,965 took the national certification and 31,993 or 97.1 percent passed. The certification rate, however, was only 6.8 percent.
A TVL track graduate can use the national certification as credentials in applying for a job if he/she wants to work after SHS graduation.
Gatchalian, Senate Committee on Basic Education chairman, said: “Kung mapopondondohan natin ang certification ng mga senior high school graduates sa ilalim ng TVL, matutulungan natin silang magkaroon ng maayos na trabaho kagaya ng ipinangako ng programang K to 12 (If we can just fund the certification of senior highs school graduates under the TVL track, we can help them have jobs like what the K to 12 program promised).”
Gatchalian has filed Senate Bill No. 2367 or the Batang Magaling Act which proposes that the Department of Education (DepEd), in coordination with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), shall provide the national competency assessments to DepEd senior high school graduates free of charge.
Those who will pass shall be awarded the appropriate National Certificates as an official recognition of their skills and competencies aligning with TESDA’s established standards.
The Batang Magaling Act seeks the creation of the National and Local Batang Magaling Councils to strengthen the linkages and collaboration among the DepEd, local government units, academic communities, and industry partners to address the mismatch between the skills of K to 12 graduates and the demands of the labor market.
