DBM urged to fund DepEd certification for senior HS grads' employment
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) should give the Department of Education (DepEd) funds for the printing and issuance of certificates for students who have finished technical-vocational courses in senior high school so they can actually find work after graduation.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano made the call on Wednesday, August 16, at the continuation of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) on the proposed national budget for 2024.
Cayetano recalled that at the time the K to 12 Law, Republic Act 10157 was still being crafted, it was agreed that the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) certification will be passed on to the DepEd.
“Because DepEd doesn’t have the money to buy the equipment, but TESDA does have that. And somehow that did not materialize,” Cayetano said.
The senator said since the TESDA gets a budget increase of P1-billion every fiscal year, part of the amount could be given to the DepEd for this purpose.
“Maybe this year, we can transfer that P1-billion for certification to the DepEd,” he said.
Senators Sherwin Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, and Juan Edgardo “Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, both agreed with Cayetano.
Angara noted DepEd never had funding for the certification of vocational graduates since the K-12 curriculum was implemented.
“We gave our graduates that false promise that they will find work, but the truth is that they will not unless they have that certification,” he said.