Republic Act No. 1047 Ladderizes Philippine Education: An Equal Opportunity
April 18, 2015
“Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.“ John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)
Every child’s bright future through the formal educative processes is ensured with the advent of the K-12 in the Philippine Curriculum. That is if they follow the system’s sanctioned and prescribed procedures. Many students who finished K-12 will have a great possibility to land technical-vocational jobs of which will be the basis of their future livelihood. However, it is expected that the many among these graduates may realize that they need further studies which to them will mean additional period of time and additional expenses. With a new act from the government authorities, they have nothing to fear in as far as they are determined to push through.
Ladderized education is a scheme which does not waste whatever educational credentials and knowledge every Filipino graduate has earned since the basic education earned can be utilized to advance studies. From K to 12 to TVET to Higher Education (HE) courses, nothing is wasted. Having completed any of these levels ensures employability and supports additional studies. Students after completing their K to 12 may start to work for some time and can again enroll in the undergraduate courses without reverting back to the basic subjects of the course they plan to achieve.
And to address this crucial need, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) , Technical Education Skills and Development Training Authority (TESDA) and the Department of Education ( DepEd) as three educational governing bodies in consultation with the Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC) cooperatively devised a means of promoting quality education in the country and this is through the Ladderized Education Program (LEP) as mandated by Republic Act No. 10647.
Other government agencies have expressed their support : the PRC, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Science and Technology, ( DOST) Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), among other concern agencies as this pedagogical process goes.
The LEP under “Ladderized Education Act of 2014.” approved on November 21,2014 by President Benigno S. Aquino III is a result of the consolidated Senate Bill No.2272 and House Bill No. 3575 passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on September 24,2014
According to this Act ,”It Promotes an equal opportunity rights of all citizens to quality and accessible education at all levels and to establish and maintain and support a complete, adequate and integrative system of education relevant to the needs of the people and contributory to national development. “Therefore this elucidates a policy for the state to institutionalize and ladderize the gaps between Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Higher Education of which the TVET graduates and even workers have easy access in availing these created educational breakthrough.” As stated, “The state recognizes and supports the promotion and protection of the inherent academic freedom enjoyed by all institutions of higher learning.”
Section 4 of this act stipulates the Philippine Qualification Frameworks (PQF) for graduate attributes that embodies the following objectives for its recognition : “Adopt national standards and levels for outcomes of education, support the development and maintenance of pathways and equivalencies which provide access to qualifications and assist people to move easily and readily between the different education and training sectors and between these sectors and the labor market and to align with international qualifications framework to support the national and international mobility of workers through increased recognition of the value and incomparability of Philippine qualifications.
The PQF National Coordinating Committee (PQF-NCC) is composed of the CHED, TESDA, DepEd, DOLE, PRC and DepED as the chair.
In order to cater to the needs of graduates, Section 5 specifies Priority Disciplines as the first major approach for the implementation of the ladderized program, the CHED,TESDA and DepEd in consultation with the DOLE, Department of Agriculture (DA), the DTI,DOST,NEDA the PRC and other related agencies in consistent with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) are directed to identify priority disciplines and programs for Ladderization which links with labor market realities.” In here, benchmarking of knowledge and skills in the industries for students to learn is an imperative cooperative procedures.
Section 10 of this deed, points out Academic Freedom to be standardized through the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) “to retain the right to assess the level and standard of the previously completed TVET Programs by an applicant-student in a manner that is transparent and objective, incorporating therein its own admission requirements. The applicant –student must gain admission to the HEI’s undergraduate program by meeting the prescribe criteria and program requisites and such other requirements by HEIs.”
To sum it up, Republic Act No.10647 supports Filipino students access for quality education and respects the options of every Filipino student in gaining knowledge from K-12, TEVT to HE without necessarily repeating the basic education requirements in HE because these are embedded under the initial courses they have earlier completed. This is tantamount to saying that the ladderized education program becomes an easy access due to reduced time frame of taking additional courses which cuts back financial constraints in ensuring the security of every Filipino student’s future. marvinwacnaglidawan@gmail.com
