To improve the employability of senior high school senior high school (SHS) graduates under the technical-vocational livelihood (TVL) track, Senator Win Gatchalian is pushing to make it mandatory for SHS-TVL learners to undergo the free assessment that could earn them national certifications (NCs).

In his interpellation on the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s (TESDA) proposed 2025 budget, Gatchalian raised that the assessment for NCs remained non-mandatory for SHS-TVL learners though it is funded under the 2024 national budget. This fiscal year, P438.162 million was allotted under the TESDA Regulatory Program for the free assessment of Grade 12 SHS-TVL learners. 

The TESDA is planning to issue a joint memorandum circular with the Department of Education (DepEd) to require SHS-TVL learners to undergo assessment for NCs. 

“I fully support the mandatory assessment of our senior high school learners in the TVL track and I look forward to the signing of the joint memorandum circular that will operationalize it. I truly believe that this program is a game-changer for our students so they can get decent jobs,” said Gatchalian, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education. 

The senator pushed to include the allocation in the 2024 national budget to improve certification rates among SHS-TVL learners. For SY School Years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, the certification rates among TVL graduates of senior high school were only 25.7% and 6.8%, respectively. 

The TESDA and DepEd adjusted their target to certify 197,077 Grade 12 SHS-TVL learners this year. While this is 53% lower than the original target of about 420,967 graduates for Fiscal Year 2024, the TESDA said it already plans to assess graduates from previous school years to help improve the certification rates. As of November 5 this year, 926 out of 1,039 learners who took the assessment passed and were certified. 

Under the General Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2025 (House Bill No. 10800), P496.6 million was allotted for the free assessment and certification of SHS-TVL learners.