MANILA, Philippines – Senator Joel Villanueva called on the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) to ensure that all agencies and bodies providing technical education and skills will coordinate with them.
In a text message to INQUIRER.net on Friday, Villanueva said these training schemes mainly include certificate courses related to setting trade skills standards.
“We want Tesda to accredit, coordinate, and evaluate certification courses to ensure that our trainees obtain quality jobs or livelihood using the skills they acquired from the training financed with government funds,” he added.
On Thursday, Villanueva admitted before the Senate Committee on Finance that it irked him knowing some government agencies are now offering certificate courses without coordinating with Tesda.
“Nagpupundi ang tenga ko kapag mag nagsasabi dito sa Senado na ‘kami po ay nagte-training at nagce-certify.’ Teka lang, anong nagce-certify? Sino kayo para mag certify?” Villanueva said during the chamber’s hearing on the proposed 2024 budget of Tesda.
(It irks me when agencies come here in the Senate and tell us that ‘We are training and certifying.’ What are you certifying? Who are you to certify?)
He did not enumerate these agencies, but he noted that these include the Department of Science and Technology and the Agricultural Training Institute.
Villanueva, who was the former Tesda chief, then pointed out that if all these training and certificate courses were different from the ones that Tesda has, it would be a waste of money and time.
“Help me, my beloved Tesda, to ensure that these agencies know what they are doing. Kasi sayang ang pondo. Imagine, nagte-training lahat eh,” Villanueva said.
(The funds might be wasted. Imagine, all the other agencies are training people.)
Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, who presided over the hearing, backed Villanueva’s remarks and directed Tesda officials to submit a list containing all non-Tesda agencies now offering certificate courses.
According to Legarda, there is a need to question these agencies on what basis they are following to grant these certificate courses.
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