College students dapat matuto ng tech voc skills – Salceda

NAIS ni House Committee on Ways and Means chairperson at Albay Rep. Joey Salceda na madagdagan  ang kahalagahan ng mga college graduate sa pamamagitan ng pagtuturo sa kanila  ng mga kursong alok ng Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Ayon kay Salceda, dapat pagtulungan ng Commission on Higher Education (CHED) at TESDA na payagan makakuha ang mga college students ng mga course sa TESDA kaugnay sa larangan ng disiplina upang makuha nila nang sabay ang diploma at TESDA certifications sa oras na sila ay gumradweyt.

“If we will pursue truly universal access to higher education, we must support community colleges that typically cater to the poorest and most underserved segments of the enrolled population. Nowhere does free tuition matter more than in the community colleges, where working students enroll,” ani ni Salceda.

Inilabas ni Salceda ang naturang pahayag kasabay ng Gawad Parangal ng CHED para sa local college sa Albay, kung saan kinilala ang naging tagumpay ng lalawigan sa pagpapatupad ng Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education (UAQTE) Law. Pinangalanan din si Salceda bilang “Father of the UAQTE Law o Free College Tuition Law.

“As a result of UAQTE, community colleges grew from 107 before its enactment to 121 by 2020. This is the fastest the number of community colleges grew in recent history. In Albay, we doubled down on community colleges. As of this year, we now have nine community colleges, the most of any province in the country,” wika ni Salceda.

Naniniwala si Salceda na ilan sa mga course sa kolehiyo ay dapat maituro at sertipikado ng TESDA.

An electrical engineering student in an SUC or LUC can surely also undergo certification as an electrician. Even students in private schools should have a TESDA-certifiable allied skill,” punto ni Salceda.

Dagdag ni Salceda na mas kailangan ngayon ng mundo ng mas maraming skills keysa sa diploma, kaya dapat tiyakin ng CHED na magagamit ng mga college graduate ang kanilang skills.

“Had TESDA’s advanced computer skills certifications been present then, a TESDA course on programming and data analytics, which TESDA offers now, would have prepared me well for Management Engineering in Ateneo,” punto pa niya.

Samantala, nagpaabot naman ng pagbati si Atty. Caroline Cruz, program director ng Pitmaster Foundation Inc, kay Salceda dahil sa natanggap na pagkilala.