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SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian, the co-chairperson of EDCOM 2, and Senator Joel Villanueva, a commissioner of EDCOM 2 and chair of the Senate Basic Education Committee, have raised concerns regarding the government’s expenditure of an estimated P2.77 billion on community-based TESDA scholars who did not undergo assessment.

Villanueva highlighted the significant number of graduates from community-based programs, citing TESDA data indicating that 36.21% of their graduates originate from these programs.

Among the 44,000 individuals enrolled in community-based TESDA programs this year, only 17,995 have graduated to date. Out of this group, just 4,086 have obtained a Certificate of Competency (CoC), and of those, only 3,937 have been awarded a National Certificate. Villanueva posed the question, “What happened to the balance?”

Gatchalian emphasized the government’s investment in training through scholarship programs but stressed the futility of this training without assessment and CoC, which are essential for securing employment opportunities.

A critical issue identified was the shortage of assessors and challenges in scheduling assessments, with TESDA Deputy Director General Aniceto Bertiz III noting that the agency currently has 7,593 assessors.

Considering an estimated 1.5 million clients in the entire TVET sector in the country, this equates to 197 clients per assessor, highlighting the severe shortage of assessors.

Gatchalian also advocated for the certification of Senior High School – Technical Vocational Livelihood (SHS-TVL) track students to enhance their employability. He proposed allocating P1 billion in the budget for the certification of approximately 400,000 SHS-TVL students.

He stressed the importance of assessments and certifications, emphasizing that “training is not the end goal” and that around 98% of SHS-TVL learners who take the certification exams pass, making it a worthwhile investment.

TESDA Director General Suharto Mangudadatu suggested training teachers and district supervisors from the Department of Education as TESDA trainers and assessors. However, Gatchalian acknowledged the need for contingency plans, as DepEd might have reservations about this proposal. (AI/MNM)