Tech-voc eyed under K+12

By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) Updated May 29, 2011 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Technical and vocational education will be integrated in the proposed “K+12” model for the country’s basic education system, effectively adding two more years to high school, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) director general Joel Villanueva said yesterday. “The K+12 model will make technical-vocational education a staple for high school students, giving our youth the chance to develop their potentials in the early stage of schooling,” Villanueva said in a statement. K+12 covers kindergarten and the six years of elementary, four years of junior high school and two years of senior high school and secondary education. At present, the Philippine basic education system comprises only kindergarten, six years in elementary and four years in high school. According to Villanueva, the two additional years in high school would be for “in-depth specialization for students, depending on the occupation or career they wish to pursue.” He said with the new model, technical and vocational education would be “one of the tracks to be included during the latter years of the secondary level, particularly in the 11th and 12th years, allowing students to explore their potentials in hands-on skills-based training as an option for future career development.” “The global imperative for more jobs and more productive jobs is a major challenge for development, and workers’ skills are at the core of improving individuals’ employment outcomes and increasing countries’ productivity and growth,” he added. Villanueva has also underscored the need for TESDA, the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to “coordinate closely with one another in pursuing a seamless, harmonized and borderless education system.” At present, public and private technical institutions are required to get prior authority from TESDA for their technical vocational education and training programs. TESDA grants permits through its Unified Technical Vocation Education and Training (TVET) Program Registration and Accreditation System or UTPRAS. Graduates are required to undergo assessment before they are issued certificates of competency, the same way professionals get their licenses from the Professional Regulation Commission. In 2010, more than 1.3 million graduates got TVET certification. “Faced with global and domestic challenges and changing economic environment as well as skills development issues and concerns, our TVET system shall be directed toward the development of a skilled Filipino workforce that meets the requirements of the 21st century,” Villanueva said. Slight dip Meanwhile, Education Secretary Armin Luistro clarified that the 2010 cohort survival rate for elementary and high school students across the country posted only a “slight dip” and was not a downtrend. The cohort survival rate is the percentage of students who are able to go up to the next higher level. “There was no downward trend especially for elementary. There was a slight dip in that of high school. It went down by a bit,” Luistro said. Luistro was reacting to a report in The STAR on the figures he presented during the National Education Summit organized by the DepEd, the CHED, and TESDA last Wednesday. He said there was no drastic drop even in the National Achievement Test (NAT) results from 2005 to 2010. He said the effects of reforms he is implementing would not be felt immediately. “Whatever reforms you do, it will take a long time to see the results,” he said. But a check by The STAR showed that the mean percentage NAT score of students dropped steadily from 49.26 percent in school year 2007-2008 to 47.40 percent in 2008-2009, and eventually to 46.30 percent in 2009-2010. Elementary school achievement test results, on the other hand, showed slight gains from 64.81 percent in 2007-2008, to 66.33 percent in 2008-2009, and to 69.21 percent in 2009-2010. For the elementary level, the cohort survival rate in 2007-2008 was at 75.26 percent, while in 2008-2009 it was at 75.39 percent. The figure retreated to 74.38 percent in 2009-2010. For the high school level, the cohort survival rate was pegged at 79.91 percent in 2007-2008, 79.73 in 2008-2009, and down to 78.44 percent in 2009-2010. Earlier, Alliance of Concerned Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said the DepEd and CHED should present the true state of education in the country. “In previous years, we have always heard rosy statistics from DepEd about the supposed improving achievement levels. Now, we see the true picture of the ugly state of affairs,” Tinio said. “These are bleak statistics that should be highlighted to force the government to take more drastic action to arrest the deterioration of the state of education by allotting more resources to education in the next few years,” he added. - With Rainier Allan Ronda