Gatchalian: 4 out of 10 TESDA graduates have no assessment certification

Senate basic education committee chairman Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday said that 4 out of 10 Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) graduates did not undergo assessment for national certifications.

"In a perfect world, we want 100% assessment. Everyone who took TESDA courses should undergo assessment, and we want them to pass the certification. So how come in 2022, it's only 64% and how come the targets are getting lower?" Gatchalian asked TESDA officials during a hearing on the agency's proposed 2024 budget.

The target number of Technical Vocational and Education Training (TVET) graduates that underwent assessment also decreased from 70% in 2023 to 60% in 2024.

He noted that TESDA graduates must have certification to get employed as employers will value the certification of such courses.

TESDA Deputy Director General Aniceto Bertiz III, however, said those who don't undergo assessments and receive certifications are from courses with "no training regulations." 

Some courses include creative web design, information and communication technology (ICT), and language training courses.

"Hindi ba, before you can train, you need training regulations, and training regulations are also required in order to be assessed? Those are technical courses and I would assume that the value of those courses are in the certification," Gatchalian said.

TESDA Certification Office Executive Director Maria Susan Dela Rama further explained that programs with and without training regulations are registered with TESDA.

Programs with training regulations are the only ones with competency assessment tools, while some programs, including those that are enterprise-based and community-based, have no existing training regulations.

She added that private providers can offer courses without training regulations to meet the demand in their communities, provinces, and regions.

While coping with the demand and developing all the training regulations, TESDA ensured that registered programs have facilities, trainers, equipment, and curriculum, among other requirements that comply with industry standards.

Moreover, Gatchalian is also pushing for the certification of senior high graduates who took the technical-vocational-livelihood (TVL) track to boost their employability.

Gatchalian then proposed to include P1 billion in the 2024 proposed budget to certify around 400,000 TVL learners. —VAL, GMA Integrated News