Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) said its allotted 2017 budget of ₱6.9 billion is not enough, as it expects more enrollees because of the K to 12 program.
“Our budget is not enough and we have millions of people who would like to have skills training,” TESDA Director General Guiling Mamondiong said at the Education Summit 2016 on Thursday.
The budget will support the 293,333 enrollees in TESDA’s Training-for-Work Scholarship Program.
The K to 12 program prepares graduates to join the workforce immediately without having a college education.
Under K to 12, Grades 7 to 8 students will take exploratory Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) subjects, while those in Grades 9 to 12 can take specialized TLE subjects, such as agricultural production and industrial arts.
Commission on Higher Education Chair Patricia Licuanan said they value middle-level skills training.
Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones, meanwhile, said she believes college education is no longer the measure of success these days.
But some parents think otherwise. The DepEd said 60 percent of parents still want their children to finish college.
As for the DepEd’s 2017 budget, Briones said it will be enough for the K to 12 program.
Next year, the DepEd is getting ₱567 billion, the lion’s share of the national budget.
Implementing the K to 12 program means the government must meet the needs of over 21 million public school students by 2017.
This includes building over 47,000 new classrooms, hiring 53,000 teachers, purchasing 55.8 million learning materials, and getting 67,000 sets of school desks and 30,600 computer sets.
CNN Philippines’ Ivy Saunar contributed to this report.
