Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has pushed anew for his proposed ‘Batang Magaling Act’ or Senate Bill (SB) No. 2367 to boost the employability of senior high school (SHS) graduates.

Gatchalian reiterated his push following statements made by President Marcos to make sure that SHS graduates are ready and employable for the workforce.

The proposed measure seeks to institutionalize the provision of free national competency assessments for the awarding of national certifications, which are provided for under the 2024 national budget. The Batang Magaling Act shall boost the work readiness of SHS graduates by aligning schools’ curricular offerings and the SHS program’s work immersion component with market needs identified by industry partners and government agencies.

It also aims to enhance the preparedness of senior high school graduates for their chosen pathways, whether it be higher education, skills development, employment, or entrepreneurship.

It can be recalled that for this fiscal year, Gatchalian proposed the allocation of more than P438 million under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s (TESDA) Regulatory Program to assess SHS learners under the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) track for the issuance of national certification. The allocation seeks to benefit more than 420,900 TVL graduates.

“Patuloy nating isinusulong ang Batang Magaling Act upang paigtingin ang kahandaan ng ating mga senior high school graduates para makapagtrabaho. Kung hindi natin maipapakita sa ating mga kababayan ang dagdag na benepisyo ng dalawang taon sa high school, dadami ang ating mga kababayang hindi makukuntento sa programang K to 12 (We will continuously push for the Batang Magaling Act to improve the preparedness of our senior high school graduates for employment. If we can't show our citizens the benefits of two additional years in high school, a lot more would express discontentment with the K to 12 program),” said Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.

Gatchalian said that the proposed measure mandates the Department of Education (DepEd) to ensure that the SHS program complies with TESDA’s quality assurance framework and training regulations.