SENATOR Francis Escudero urged his colleagues to pass the six education-related bills endorsed by the Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education, including the proposed Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program which is envisioned to provide a more inclusive and skilled workforce in the country.

In his sponsorship speech at the plenary, Escudero said the ETEEAP under Senate Bill No. 2568, once enacted into law, will provide more opportunities for working professionals who have not been able to complete their college education by earning a degree through non-traditional means.

“For many college dropouts, whose skills are not receipted by a diploma, the absence of academic credentials can and does lead to opportunity losses,” said Escudero, chairman of the CHTVE.

“Often, their career advancement is blocked by a diploma wall, while those far less talented, whiz past them by flashing a diploma as a gate pass. And nowhere is this race fiercer than in the civil service, where the orthodoxy of degrees over skills reigns supreme,” he added.

According to Escudero, it is the same diploma wall that blocks returning Filipino talents of overseas Filipino workers who have done decades of tours of duty in the most competitive environments from reintegrating into an economy they can enrich with their talents and whose workers they can upskill.

“Kahit sa Michelin star resto pa naging sous chef, hindi pwedeng gawing faculty ng isang state universities and colleges kasi walang master’s degree. Kahit na henyo sa information technology sa abroad, pagdating dito kung walang degree, walang trabaho. No diploma, no entry,” Escudero lamented.

SB 2568, Escudero said, will correct that inequality as the measure aims to institutionalize the ETEEAP and provide the necessary funds for its implementation.

The program focuses on academic equivalency and accreditation at the college level.

It validates the knowledge and expertise acquired by senior high school graduates, post-secondary technical-vocational graduates, and college undergraduate students through relevant work experiences and high-level, nonformal training.

The bill designates the Commission on Higher Education as the lead implementor of the program, assigning it powers and functions, such as choosing what academic programs shall be opened, and the certification process that applicants must go through.

“By granting them a pathway to earn a bachelor’s degree, this program contributes to a more inclusive and skilled workforce in the Philippines,” he stressed.