Senator Sherwin Gatchalian 

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the just-enacted 2025 national budget will continue subsidizing free assessments for the issuance of national certifications (NCs) for senior high school (SHS) learners under the technical-vocational livelihood track (TVL).

Gatchalian, in a statement Saturday, Jan. 4, said that this would boost the employability of the learners.

The P6.352-trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA) or national budget carried a special provision proposed by Gatchalian, which made it mandatory for SHS-TVL learners to undergo free assessments. 

By requiring free assessments for SHS-TVL learners, Gatchalian hopes to see improvements in their certification rates.

“Upang mabigyan natin ang mga senior high school learners sa ilalim ng TVL track ng mas mataas na tsansang makakuha ng magandang trabaho, patuloy nating pagsisikapang mabigyan sila ng libreng assessment para sa kanilang national certification," said Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.

(We will strive to provide our senior high school learners under the TVL track with free assessment for their national certification in order to further improve their chances of landing decent jobs.)

"Maliban sa paglalaan ng pondo, isinulong din natin ang polisiya para maging mandatory sa mga mag-aaral ng TVL sa senior high school ang sumailalim sa assessment,” he noted.

(Aside from the provision of additional funds, we will push for a policy that would make it mandatory for TVL learners in senior high school to undergo assessment.)

The veteran lawmaker pushed the allocation of P438.162 million under last year's national budget to fund the free assessment and certification program of SHS-TVL learners. The funding, however, remains largely unutilized, especially because participation in the program is voluntary.

Out of 1,039 SHS-TVL learners who took the assessment last year, only 926 got certified. The 2024 national budget’s original target was to certify 420,967 graduates for Academic Year 2023-2024, but this was lowered to 197,077.

To ensure the continuation of the free assessment and certification for SHS-TVL learners under the 2025 national budget, P275.86 million is allotted for the program on top of the unutilized funds from fiscal year 2024. The allocation will be lodged under the Department of Education’s (DepEd) budget.