DARAGA—Albay Second District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda has launched a P100-million pilot training program here that focuses on the technical-vocational aspect of the newly implemented Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, the new free college tuition law.
The pilot program targets at least 8,300 youth beneficiaries.
Salceda, principal author of RA 10931, said the program aims to address the “diverse range of skills and learning styles” of his constituents who may not avail of the free four-year standard college courses.
RA 10931, he said, was designed to highlight not only the free four-year college courses, but also technical-vocational education, which was not given equal focus previously under the Technical Vocational Education and Training or TVET program.
He said his pilot program aims to improve, maximize and enhance the services of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority in Albay, the Daraga Human Resources Development College, the Daraga Community College—as pilot institutions—and later all other accredited tech- voc schools in the province run by LGUs, under the UAQTEA.
Salceda said his 2nd District office has allocated 5,000 slots for Training for Work Scholarship (TWSP) with a budget of P25 million and 1,500 slots for the Special Training for Employment Program, with P15 million, administered by TESDA.
Another 1,800 slots will also be allocated by June, with a budget of P54 million for the free TVET under RA 10931.
He explained that giving special attention to the tech- voc aspect of the UAQTEA will allow the country’s educational program to answer the emerging global demand to bring back and revitalize technical-vocational training in schools.
Citing recent findings on global educational trends, Salceda said focus on vocational training is hinged on the fact “that people have a huge and diverse range of different skills and learning styles.”
An article published by Forbes Magazine titled Why We Desperately Need to Bring Back Vocational Training in Schools, states that), notes that “Not everyone is good at math, biology, history and other traditional subjects that characterize college-level work… And not everyone goes to college.”
The latest figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show that only “about 68 percent of high school graduates attend college; this implies that over 30 percent of them end up with neither academic nor job skills.”
The same report said that almost 40 percent of students who begin four-year college programs “don’t complete them, which translates into a whole lot of wasted time, wasted money, and burdensome student loan debts.”
Salceda noted that the Philippines, most certainly shares the same predicament, and free technical-vocational training would effectively address the issue.
Albay has been the testing ground for the UAQTEA that was formulated based on the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education program Salceda carried out when he was governor of the province for nine years before he returned to Congress in 2016. He subsequently filed the free college tuition bill that became RA 10931.
Now Albay is set to benefit from that pioneering effort, with an initial batch of 30,000 enrollees under UAQTE in SY 2018-19. Of this number of Albayano scholars, about 17,000 will enroll in state universities and colleges (SUCs) and another 12,000 in local universities and colleges (LUCs).
“Free tuitions and miscellaneous fees in state-run universities and colleges, as well as TESDA-accredited technical vocational schools is no longer a dream. I am humbled to have been the principal author of its enabling law,” Salceda said.
“I have worked so hard so that students of community colleges in Albay especially the Daraga Community College, Manito Community College and Rapurapu Community College will benefit from the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education or RA 10931,” he added.
There are 112 SUCs and 78 LUCs presently accredited by CHED and about 122 technical vocational institutions accredited by TESDA in the country.