TO BOOST the employability of senior high school graduates under the technical-vocational livelihood track, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is advocating for mandatory free assessments that could earn SHS-TVL learners national certifications.

During his interpellation on TESDA’s proposed 2025 budget, Gatchalian noted that the assessment for National Certificates (NCs) remains non-mandatory for SHS-TVL learners, despite funding under the 2024 national budget.

This year, P438.162 million was allocated under TESDA’s Regulatory Program for the free assessment of Grade 12 SHS-TVL learners. TESDA plans to issue a joint memorandum circular with the Department of Education to make the assessment mandatory.

“I fully support the mandatory assessment of our senior high school learners in the TVL track and I look forward to the signing of the joint memorandum circular that will operationalize it. I truly believe that this program is a game-changer for our students so they can get decent jobs,” said Gatchalian, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.

Gatchalian secured funding in the 2024 budget to improve certification rates among SHS-TVL learners. For SY 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, certification rates among TVL graduates were only 25.7% and 6.8%, respectively.

TESDA and DepEd have adjusted their target to certify 197,077 Grade 12 SHS-TVL learners this year. While this is 53% lower than the original target of about 420,967, TESDA plans to assess graduates from previous years to help improve certification rates.

As of November 5 this year, 926 out of 1,039 learners who took the assessment passed and were certified. Under the 2025 General Appropriations Bill, P496.6 million has been allocated for the free assessment and certification of SHS-TVL learners.