President Marcos has ordered the integration of technical vocational programs to the Senior High School curriculum in an attempt to make graduates more employable for local and global workforce.
Marcos tasked government agencies to implement the integration of Technical and Vocational Education and Training to Senior High School curriculum "as soon as possible" as he stressed the need to reskill and upskill the Filipino workforce to meet the demands of the current and future labor market.
A technical working group composed of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will be created to oversee the "nitty gritty on curriculum development."
According to TESDA Deputy Director General Rosanna Urdaneta, they came up with the proposal and presented it to the President following a study that there has been a mismatch between the demands for workers and the skills of graduates.
"TESDA, DOLE, and DepEd came up with the proposal to the President to strengthen Senior High School kasi meron pong study ang PIDS na there's a demand for mga workers pero hindi po talaga tayo nakakapagbigay talaga ng sapat na kaalaman at yung mga senior high schools po ay hindi nae-employ kaagad agad (because there is a study of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies that there is a demand for workers but we are not able to provide enough skills and senior high schools are not being employed)," Urdaneta said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday, Feb. 27.
"So what the President had instructed the TESDA director general is for him to work closely with DepEd and harmonize yung curriculum po ng TVET as well as that of the senior high school so proposed this embedment," Urdaneta added.
A pilot testing of the integration process will be implemented in select schools around the country. About 4,000 teachers will be trained for the reintegration of at least 80 training regulations which are key employment generators.
TESDA Secretary Suharto Mangudadatu also clarified that the integration will not burden the teachers as there will be no major changes in the curriculum, technical vocational skills will only be given emphasis on the lesson plans.
According to Urdaneta, the move primarily aims to strengthen the "weaknesses" in the country's education system which would allow senior high graduates to have a diploma and national certificate qualifying them for more job opportunities.