PHILIPPINES TO HAVE SEAMLESS, BORDERLESS EDUCATION With the coming integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) next year, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) Secretary Joel Villanueva said the government has introduced a new component into the educational system that would ensure the empowerment of the Filipinos. Villanueva, during his recent visit in Cagayan de Oro City, said this would be realized through the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF). He said the PQF was “a dream come true” when President Benigno Aquino IIII signed executive order 83 (EO) in 2012 to put in place a system that would harmonize the curricula of Tesda, Department of Education, and the Commission on Higher Education (Ched), and creating a “seamless, ladderized, borderless” education. Villanueva said the PQF would make it easier for a worker to go back to school and earn a degree since it is easier for a graduate to find a job here and abroad. He cited an example of a tricycle driver who enrolled in small engine repair course at Tesda. When he graduated, he put up a mechanical shop where the skills he acquired from Tesda were put to good use. After 10 years, he decided to become an engineer. When he goes to a college or a university, it will be easier to assess time spent, skills and knowledge he obtained while studying at Tesda, including his 10-year experience as a mechanic. So, Villanueva said, instead of finishing an engineering course in five years, it will be reduced to one or two years. He said countries like Singapore are already doing that, wherein “credit transfer” is easily given to students due to international alignment. “And whatever pathways or mode of delivery of the educational system that you went through, you will be accepted since that is the framework,” he added. Gaps In his EO, Aquino acknowledged that “there are gaps in the education and labor sector brought about by poor information and the continuing disconnect between educational institutions and employment/industry trends which has brought about the mismatch in jobs and skills…” “The adoption of qualifications framework,” the EO said, “will benefit various sectors of education and training, particularly in encouraging lifelong learning of individuals; providing employers specific training standards and qualifications that are aligned to industry standards; ensuring that training and educational institutions adhere to specific standards and are accountable for achieving the same; and, providing the government with common standards, taxonomy and typology as bases for granting approval of stakeholders.” The PQF objectives, the EO added, are to adopt national standards and levels for outcomes of education, and to support the development and maintenance of pathways and equivalencies that provide access to qualifications and assist people to move easily and readily between the different education and training sectors and between these sectors and the labor market. It will also align the PQF with international qualifications framework to support the national and international mobility of workers through increased recognition of the value and comparability of the Philippine qualifications. With the K to 12 program of the DepEd, Villanueva also said Tesda’s client base will increase by at least 1.2 million young Filipinos since the assessment and certification of the senior high graduates would still be done by Tesda. (Jigger J. Jerusalem | SUN STAR) Read more at sunstar.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2014/10/13/ph-have-seamless-borderless-education-370861
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 10:32:07 +0000
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