Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

1058

House Bill No.

Introduced by Honorable Neptali M. Gonzales IT

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to strengthen the ladderized education system in the
country.

Filipinos have a deep regard for education which they view as primary
avenue for economic and social development. Basic quality education is very
important in building a nation. Hence, it is important to make it accessible to
all.

Presently, there are about 848,000 college graduate in the country who are
unemployed due to “education mismatch” or the fact that there are no available
jobs related to the courses they took. This mismatch in the quality of skilled
graduates produced by educational institutions, compared to the needs of the
current market and industries, result to “structural unemployment”.

As solution to this structural unemployment, the ladderized education
program has been introduced. The program allows the technical or vocational
graduate to earn the equivalent credit units for technical course in entering the
college education. The curriculum is restructured to allow a student of a
Ladderized College degree program to earn technical or vocational credits and
qualifications without having to repeat the same technical vocational subjects for
which he has already acquired knowledge and competence.

The passage of this bill will strengthen the ladderized education system in
the country and will further address the present compartmentalization of
technical or vocational and college degree programs that hinder the recognition
and accreditation of competencies in college degree programs.

In view of the foregoing, approval of this



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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No, __ 1058

Introduced by Honorable Neptali M. Gonzales II

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

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

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

SEC, 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.


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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).

SEC. 8.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 from a 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.

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

(d) Embedded tech-voc 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.

(ce) Equivalency refers to a process that involves assigning equivalent

academic credits to the competencies demonstrated by a student through


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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.

() 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.

SEC. 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


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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-TVET 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.

SEC. 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 (DTI), 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


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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 TESDA, 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 HEIs 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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 TESDA shall

endeavor to include in their respective budgets the provision of scholarships,


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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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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
tight 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.

SEC. 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


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shall be included in the respective annual appropriations of the CHED and the
‘TESDA in the General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 15. Bffectivity. - ‘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,