BY PRINCE GOLEZ
Manila Reporter
MANILA – Graduates of technical-vocational courses should be given the chance to pursue higher education, said newbie senator Cynthia Villar.
Her Senate Bill 2272 proposes to create a national qualifications framework that will allow easier transitions between technical-vocational education and training and higher education.
“A student taking up a vocational course on bartending can later go on and earn a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management under this ladderized education system,” Villar said.
Under the bill, the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority are directed to design harmonized guidelines and equivalency competency courses to enhance the delivery of high-quality tech-voc and higher education courses.
“In a traditional education setup, if a student stops schooling, he or she will be treated as a dropout. But with a ladderized system, even if he or she stops, she would acquire competency and even receive a certificate,” the lawmaker also said.
Meanwhile, Senate President Franklin Drilon said the Senate is set to approve six bills on education before they adjourn next week.
These measures include proposals for the creation of a national student loan program, open high school system for out-of-school youth, distance learning education system, and the Iskolar ng Bayan Act, among others.
Drilon lamented that the Philippines is among the top five countries in the world with the highest number of out-of-school youth.
“Ang strongest asset ng ating bansa, hindi makapag-aral. We are becoming a nation of uneducated people,”/PN
