22/07/2024
President Bongbong Marcos (PBBM), in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), stated, "The DepEd, CHED, DOLE, and TESDA have joined forces now to incorporate TVET in the Senior High School curriculum, to further boost the employability of the students."
On a personal note, as an advocate of TVET, I realized that its low appeal and perception among students, some teachers, and parents is one of its greatest challenges, followed by the lack of support.
Last year, I considered conducting research to develop a curriculum that integrates TVET at the Senior High School level, but I know that I am limited. If made, this would be a curriculum draft that might end up shelved or bound. However, with the President's statement, I hope that all concerns will first be addressed, such as the capability of the school and its teachers, the willingness of industries to cooperate in its implementation, the ratio of students to teachers for TVET instruction, and career guidance, among others.
I can imagine a curriculum where STEM students are categorized based on their chosen future professions. For example, in the STEM - Health Allied Strand, TVET courses like Caregiving NC II, Health Care Services NC II, Pharmacy Services NC III, etc., could be incorporated. Technical Drafting NC II could be integrated with the STEM - Engineering strand. Meanwhile, for ABM, students could be sectioned into a Marketing strand, taking courses like Customer Services NC II and Events Management Services NC III, or an Accountancy Strand for Bookkeeping NC III. Moreover, students under the HUMSS - Journalism Strand could take Content Creation (Social Media) PQF Level III.
It should be noted, however, that as the government plans to make changes in the curriculum, the first to resist these changes are often the teachers. This requires careful planning and consideration of resources, teacher training, and industry collaboration to be successfully implemented.
