SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian sought funding for the certification of senior high school graduates who took the technical-vocational-livelihood track to help boost their employability.

Gatchalian estimates that about P1.52 billion will be needed to certify around 400,000 TVL learners.

He said the certification of graduates will boost their chances of landing jobs.

The senator lamented the low certification rate among senior high school graduates who took the TVL track. Out of the 486, 278 senior high school graduates who took the TVL track for School Year 2019-2020, only 127,796 took the national certification and 124,970 passed.

The passing rate among those who took the national certification was 97.8%, but the certification rate among TVL graduates for that school year was only 25.7%.

The certification rate was even lower for SY 2020-2021 with 473,911 total TVL graduates.

For this school year, 32,965 took the national certification, and 31,993 or 97.1% passed. The certification rate, however, was only 6.8%.

The Department of Education attributed the low certification rate to lack of funds.

“Kung mapopondohan natin ang certification ng mga senior high school graduates sa ilalim ng TVL track, matutulungan natin silang magkaroon ng maayos na trabaho, kagaya ng ipinangako ng programang K to 12,” the senator said.

Under the Batang Magaling Act, Gatchalian proposed that the DepEd, in coordination with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, shall provide, free of charge, the national competency assessments to DepEd senior high school graduates.

Senior graduates who pass these assessments shall be awarded National Certificates as an official recognition of their skills and competencies.