TESDA sets new rules in granting scholarship

By

DHEL NAZARIO

A higher employment rate of techvoc graduates has been set as a qualification for technical-vocation institutions in securing scholarship slots from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority's (TESDA).

The 2019 Omnibus Guidelines for Scholarships, according to TESDA Director General Secretary Isidro Lapeña, sets a higher employment rate of 60 percent as among the criteria for selecting technical vocational institutions (TVIs) that will be granted scholarship slots.

This means that 60 percent of scholar graduates of a certain TVI must be employed within a year of finishing their training for the TVI to qualify to receive scholarship slots. This was previously set at 50 percent.

Lapeña emphasized TESDA's crucial role in tech-voc education which should include initiatives from students' enrolment to employment.

The TESDA Director General said he had instructed the immediate launch of the guidelines to properly guide TVIs, as well as tech-voc students, on the new Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) directions.

“This is to ensure fast and effective implementation of the scholarship programs by all of the country’s TVIs,” he said.

Lapeña also emphasized that under his leadership, the TESDA is working for more inclusivity as embodied in the new TESDA tagline, “TESDA, Abot Lahat!”

“Since joining TESDA, I have emphasized that our clients must include those who have very little in life, mainly because they are the ones in need of most assistance,” he said.

For 2019, Lapeña said TESDA’s scholarship beneficiaries would include more indigenous peoples, former rebels, persons with disabilities, and senior citizens, in addition to migrant workers, the urban poor, drug dependents who have surrendered to authorities, and other members of similar sectors.