More teacher-assessors to boost techvoc education

MANILA, Philippines - One hundred sixty-five technical-vocational (techvoc) teachers of the Department of Education (DepEd) have undertaken training with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to become assessors as DepEd pursue efforts to strengthen technical-vocational education in public schools.

The DepEd teachers, who are already nationally certified by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), have gone through the latter’s National Trainers Training Certificate (NTTC) Level 1 training program to prepare them to become assessors — a role they need to assume especially with the expected increase in enrolment in techvoc secondary schools nationwide.

The training of the techvoc teachers on TESDA skills assessment will allow them to conduct assessment of graduates of secondary techvoc schools. Graduates passing the assessment will earn a certificate of competency or a National Certification (NC) 1 or II depending on their skills proficiency.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said that the department continues to provide continuing skills enhancement training and assessment for secondary techvoc teachers who are teaching competency-based curriculum in 26 areas of specialization in arts and trades, agriculture and fishery in collaboration with the National Tech-Voc Educational Training Trainers Academy (NTTA)-TESDA.

Under their program, an assessor from one school can also be an assessor in other schools as long as he/she is commissioned by TESDA.

DepEd’s Strengthened Technical and Vocational Education Program (STVEP) equips high school students with TESDA-certifiable skills to prepare them for the world of work, post-secondary education or entrepreneurial opportunities.

“Our goal here is to bring back the dignity of blue collar jobs by producing highly-skilled workforce demanded by the community and the industry sector,” said Luistro.

DepEd, under Luistro, has been steadily taking steps to prepare a technical-vocational education and training-rich content in the additional two-year senior high school they are set to establish by 2016 under their ambitious K to 12 basic education curriculum (BEC) reform program.

Under K to 12, the Philippines current 10-year BEC, with only six years of elementary and four years of high school — said to be largely to blame for the non-recognition of Filipino professionals overseas where Filipino graduates of engineering even in top Filipino universities only end up as mechanics or electricians — will be turned into a 12-year BEC — similar to all First World and developing countries.

DepEd, in preparing the TVET-rich two-year senior high school is looking at their existing 282 tech-vocational high schools.

In arts and trades, the 14 areas of specialization offered in DepEd’s 282 tech-voc high schools across the country are: automotive technology, building construction, cosmetology, drafting technology, electricity, electronics, furniture and cabinet making, food technology, garments, hardware servicing, machine shop, plumbing, refrigeration and air-conditioning and welding. In agriculture, the areas of specialization are animal production, crop production, horticulture and food processing. In fishery, the specialization includes fish capture, fish culture and fish processing.