Republic of the Philipines
House of Representatives
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

455

House Bill

SS
INTRODUCED BY HON. MARCELINO “MARCY” R. TEODORO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

| The proposed measure mandates the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the
Technical Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) to formulate a unified qualifications framework
that establishes equivalency pathways and access ramps in ladderized education. Likewise, it
establishes a permanent National Coordinating Technical Committee composed of CHED and TESDA
personnel to monitor and ensure the effective implementation of the Ladderized Education Program
(LEP)

Further, the bill directs other government agencies, such as the Professional Regulation
Commission (PRC), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Education
(DepEd), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Trade and Industry (DT!)
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA) to extend the necessary support and provide relevant inputs towards the effective
implementation of LEP. More importantly, the proposal provides scholarship grants and loans to
deserving students and workers in addition to the present scholarship programs being implemented by
CHED and TESDA.

Ultimately, the most laudable objectives of the measure are to open the pathways of opportunity
for career and educational progression of students and workers, achieve a seamless and borderless
education, and empower students and workers to exercise options or to choose when to enter and exit
from the educational ladder.

When the bill is finally enacted into law it would create job platforms at every exit and the
opportunity to earn income, as well as solve the problem of structural employment or skills and job
mismatch

Considering the foregoing explanations, immediate approval of the measure is earnestly sought

ARCELINO “MARCY” R. TEODORO

Representative
Ist District, City of Marikina


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
irst Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 455

INTRODUCED BY REP. MARCELINO “MARCY” R. TEODORO

AN ACT STRENGTHENING THE LADDERIZED INTERFACE BETWEEN
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING AND HIGHER EDUCATION

\CHNICAL-

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Stcniow 1. Short Title. ~ This Act shall be known as the “Ladderized Education Act of 2013”

Sve. 2, Declaration of Policy. ~ In line with the Constitutional guarantee for the State to promote
the right of all citizens to quality and accessible education at all levels and to establish, maintain and
support a complete, adequate and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people and
contributory to national development, it is hereby declared the policy of the State to institutionalize the
ladderized interface between technical-vocational education and training (TVET) and higher education
to open the pathways of opportunities for career and educational progression of students and workers,
create a seamless and borderless education, empower students and workers to exercise options or to
choose when to enter and exit in the educational ladder, and provide job platforms at every exit as well
as the opportunity to earn income

The State likewise recognizes and supports the promotion and protection of the inherent academic
freedom enjoyed by all institutions of higher learning. For this purpose, the government shall uphold
the academic standards, equity principles, promptness and consistency of the applications/admissions
and equivalency policies of higher education institutions (HEIs)

Svc, 3, Definition of Terms. ~ For purposes of this Act, the following terms are hereby defined

(a) Articulation refers to a process which allows students to make the smooth transition from one
course, program or educational level to the next without experiencing duplication of learning The
guiding principle of articulation is that no student should repeat the same course content for which
credit has already been received, even if elsewhere or from another institution. In general, an
articulated program allows a student to move froma _technical-vocational (tech-voc) course to a
college degree program, using the principle of credit transfer

(b) Credit refers to the value given to a course

(©) Credit transfer refers to the recognition and carrying forward of credits that constitute
overlapping learning, from TVET to a degree program,

(d) Embedded tech-voe qualification in a ladderized degree program refers to the process of
determining the TVET competencies/qualifications that lead to job platforms in the relevant higher


education or bachelor’s degree program. A student of a ladderized degree program can earn full TVET
qualification should he/she choose to exit from the program and get a job

(©) Equivalency refers to a process that involves assigning equivalent academic credits to the
competencies demonstrated by a student through assessment tests, thereby providing entry points to the
next higher level qualification, the purpose of which is to provide opportunities to the student to
continue to learn and/or to re-enter the educational program at a higher level without having to
unnecessarily retake courses in which a student already has demonstrated competence and knowledge

(8) Job platform refers to the gateway in the ladderized curriculum which one reaches upon
acquiring enough skills and knowledge to seek and find employment.

(g) Ladderized education refers to the harmonization of all education and training mechanisms
that allow students and workers to progress between tech-voc and college courses and programs, or
vice-versa. It opens opportunities for career and educational advancement to students and workers,
creates a seamless and borderless education and training system that will allow transfers in terms of
flexibility entry and exit between tech-voc and college degree programs in the post-secondary school
educational system,

(h) Qualification refers to a formal certification that a person has successfully achieved specific
learning outcomes relevant to the identified academic, industry or community requirements.

(i) Recognition of prior learning refers to the acknowledgment of a person’s skills and
knowledge through previous training, work or life experience, which may be used to grant status or
credit for acquired competencies.

See. 4. National Qualifications Framework. — The Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) are hereby mandated to
closely coordinate and effectively implement a unified national qualifications framework that
establishes equivalency pathways and access ramps in ladderized education, allowing for easier

transitions and progressions between TVET and higher education. The framework shall include

qualifications and articulation mechanisms such as, but not necessarily limited to, the following: credit
transfer, embedded TVET qualification in ladderized degree programs, post-T'VET bridging
programs, enhanced equivalency, adoption of ladderized curricula/programs, and accreditation and/or
recognition of prior learning

For this purpose, the CHED and the TESDA shall design harmonized guidelines and equivalency
competency courses to enhance the delivery of high-quality tech-voc and higher education courses,
synchronize standards and upgrade curriculum design per discipline and adopt a strategic
implementation scheme, including a massive consultation and information dissemination scheme. In so
doing, the CHED and the TESDA shall continue exploring and developing other mechanisms and
systems that will allow the interface between TVET and higher education with the end in view of
creating a seamless and borderless education system

Src. 5, Priority Disciplines. — As a preliminary approach to the implementation of the ladderized
program and to ensure its more focused implementation, the CHED and the TESDA, in consultation
with the industry, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Trade and
Industry (DTD, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of


Science and Technology (DOST), the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and other related
agencies, are directed to identify priority disciplines and programs for ladderization, taking into
account labor market realities. The CHED and the TESDA shall implement the ladderization of other
disciplines, other than those presently being implemented, should these be found necessary and
beneficial, based on a comprehensive study on their viability.

Sec. 6. Enhancement of the Ladderized Education Program (LEP). — The CHED and the

DA, in consultation with the PRC, are directed to jointly devise systems, procedures and
mechanisms as well as to issue, amend and update existing implementing guidelines, as necessary, for
the efficient and effective implementation of the LEP and to ensure that the objectives of the program
are met. Incentives may be given to HEls and technical-vocational institutions to further encourage
wider participation in the LEP

For this purpose, a permanent LEP National Coordinating Technical Committee, composed of the

CHED and the TESDA personnel, is hereby established.

The CHED and the TESDA shall ensure that there are designated personnel at the regional and
provincial levels responsible for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the LEP nationwide.

Ste. 7, Support from Other Government Agencies. The PRC, the DOLE, the Department of
Education (DepED), the DOST, the DTI, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the
NEDA are hereby mandated to extend the necessary support and provide relevant inputs towards the
effective implementation of the ladderized system of education

Ste. 8. Scholarships, Grants and Loans. — To ensure the effective implementation and greater

nationwide impact of the program and its accessibility to the students and workers, the CHED and the

SDA shall endeavor to include in their respective budgets the provision of scholarships, grants and
loans to deserving students and workers availing themselves of the ladderized system of education, in
addition to the present scholarship programs being implemented by the CHED and the TESDA.

Suc. 9. Enabling Clause for HEIs. ~ To encourage the widest enjoyment of the benefit of
ladderized education, HEIs whose curricula have been recognized by the CHED may avail of the
ladderization program without need for permit either from the CHED or the TESDA: Provided, That
the proposed ladderized program is within the purview of the curricular matter and that the minimum
curricular requirements under the relevant guidelines of the CHED and the TESDA are complied with

For this purpose, however, the HEI shall be required to submit to the LEP National ‘Technical
Committee the copy of the curriculum for the proposed ladderized program for monitoring and for
potential objective inputs from the technical experts in the said LEP National Technical Committee,

Src. 10. Academic Freedom. — Nothing in this Act shall be construed to restrict the HEI in the
exercise of its academic freedom. The HEI shall retain the right to assess the level and standard of
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 all the usual criteria and program requisites
and such other requirements by the HEI
Src. 11. Appropriations. ~ The amount necessary for the initial implementation of this Act shall

be sourced from the current budgets and development funds of the CHED and the TESDA. Thereafter,


the funds necessary for the continuous implementation of this Act in the ensuing years shall be included
in the respective annual appropriations of the CHED and the TESDA in the General Appropriations
Act.

Ste. 12. Implementing Rules and Regulations. ~ The CHED and the TESDA, in consultation
with relevant stakeholders in higher and tech-voc education, shall issue within sixty (60) days after the
effectivity of this Act, the rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act

Sec. 13. Separability Clause. ~ If any provision of this Act or any part hereof shall be declared
unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions, as far as they are separable, shall remain in force and
effect

Sue. 14. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof
which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified
accordingly

Sve. 15. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the

Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,