CONSISTENT with the constitutional mandate that quality education should be guaranteed to all, Camarines Sur Rep. Felix William Fuentebella has filed House Bill No. 4894 seeking to convert the Villafuerte-Peña High School in Barangay Ponglon, San Jose municipality in Camarines Sur into a national technical-vocational high school.
Once the bill is enacted into law, the educational facility will be known as the Juan C. Peña National Technical Vocational High School.
Fuentebella, in a statement, said while there is a growing number of high school students throughout the country, there is a low percentage of high school graduates who are able to find employment.
Labor-skills mismatch
The lawmaker wants the government to give priority to technical and vocational courses so that graduates can readily find jobs both here and abroad.
The mismatch is often cited as the reason many adult Filipinos cannot find jobs.
Local companies lament that many of those who apply for job vacancies do not have the right qualifications.
The government’s K-12 Program seeks to give high school students the right knowledge and skills so that they can already look for work upon graduation.
According to Fuentebella, the unemployment rate would be drastically reduced if the government focuses on providing the youth with technical and vocational skills.