SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian confirmed on Monday that the approved 2025 national budget includes his proposal to allocate P80 million in scholarships for Child Development Workers (CDWs).

A special provision introduced by Gatchalian places the P80 million under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for the Promotion, Development, and Implementation of Quality Technical Education and Skills Development Programs.

This scholarship program will prioritize CDWs with the lowest educational attainment, particularly those with only a high school diploma or less. TESDA and the Early Childhood Care and Development Council will work together to establish program guidelines.

Of the 68,080 CDWs nationwide, only 11,414 have completed secondary education. The Second Congressional Commission on Education estimates that the program will help around 2,854 CDWs improve their skills.

“Through this scholarship fund, we can support the upskilling and reskilling of our CDWs. This is an important step in helping them become more effective in fulfilling their roles,” Gatchalian, Co-Chair of EDCOM II, stated.

The proposal is aligned with the Early Childhood Care and Development Alignment Act (Senate Bill No. 2575), which Gatchalian authored and sponsored. The bill aims to ensure universal access to early childhood education and enhance the qualifications of CDWs through mandatory training and certification from TESDA.