TESDA orients schools on new scholarship guidelines

THE TECHNICAL Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) in Davao region conducted a one-day conference to deploy and widely disseminate the new guidelines on various programs to its partner schools and institutions.

Over 200 participants from the five provinces in the region attended the School Administrators’ Conference held at the Grand Regal Hotel in Lanang last Tuesday.

The conference was conducted to orient the school administrators and representatives of the recently-released Omnibus Guidelines for 2019 TESDA Scholarship Programs [Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP), Special Training for Employment Program (STEP), Private Education Student Financial Assistant (PESFA), and the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education (UAQTEA)]; the Revised Implementing Guidelines in the Registration and Implementation of Mobile Training Programs

(MTPs) and Clarificatory Guidelines; and the Amendments of Section XVII Sanctions and Penalties of the Amended Omnibus Guidelines on Program Registration under the Unified TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) Program Registration and Accreditation System.

The guidelines on the scholarship programs were formulated following Sec. Isidro Lapeña’s call that the Tesda scholarship programs must endeavor to increase the chances of TVET scholars to find a job or establish a livelihood after training. This, including the other mentioned guidelines, requires stricter monitoring on existing training schools and validation process for those applying for accreditation.

It also intends to discourage anomalies and illegal activities by implementing stricter compliance and monitoring of training programs, trainees’ attendance, and the employment rate of the scholar graduates.

Lawyer Imelda Ong, a legal division officer of Tesda Central Office who was among the speakers in the event, emphasized that Lapeña call on the scholarship implementers, both public and private, to practice due diligence in the implementation of programs particularly in utilizing government funds.