QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 10647)
RA 10647 is known as the “Ladderized Education Act of 2014.” Its core purpose is to strengthen the ladderized interface between TVET and higher education to create a seamless system of education with multiple entry and exit points, job platforms at every exit, and pathways for career and educational progression.
Section 2 declares the policy to institutionalize the ladderized interface to: (1) open pathways for career and educational progression; (2) create a seamless and borderless system; (3) empower learners/workers to choose when to enter and exit; (4) provide job platforms at every exit and opportunity to earn income; and (5) uphold academic freedom and maintain academic standards and consistent admissions/equivalency policies.
Articulation is a process that enables smooth transition from one course/program/level to the next without duplication of learning, following the guiding principle that no student should repeat course content for which credit has already been received (even if from another institution).
Credit transfer refers to a credit conversion established to promote student mobility by ensuring that units earned from different modalities are credited by the institutions.
It is the process of determining TVET competencies/qualifications that lead to job platforms within the relevant higher education/bachelor’s degree program; full TVET qualification can still be earned even if the student exits and gets a job.
Equivalency is assigning equivalent academic credits to competencies demonstrated through assessment tests, allowing entry into a higher-level qualification without unnecessarily retaking courses where competence has already been demonstrated.
A job platform is the gateway in the ladderized curriculum reached upon acquiring enough skills and knowledge to seek and find employment.
Ladderized education is the harmonization of education and training mechanisms allowing students/workers to progress between TVET and higher education (or vice versa), creating a seamless, borderless system with flexible entry and exit in post-secondary education.
The PQF-NCC includes CHED, TESDA, DepED, DOLE, and PRC, and it is chaired by DepED.
They must closely coordinate to implement a unified PQF that establishes equivalency pathways and access ramps between TVET and higher education, including qualifications and articulation mechanisms such as credit transfer, embedded TVET qualifications, post-TVET bridging, enhanced equivalency, ladderized curricula/programs, and accreditation/recognition of prior learning.
It directs CHED, TESDA, and DepED (in consultation with industry and other agencies) to identify priority disciplines/programs for ladderization based on labor market realities and implement ladderization first for these, with further expansion to other disciplines if studies show viability and benefit.
CHED, TESDA, and DepED (consulting PRC and industries as applicable) must jointly devise systems/procedures/mechanisms and issue/amend/update implementing guidelines for efficient LEP implementation, may provide incentives to institutions, and must designate personnel at regional/provincial levels for implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
PRC, DOLE, DA, DOST, DTI, NEDA, DBM, and other related agencies are mandated to extend necessary support and provide relevant inputs toward effective implementation of the ladderized system.
CHED, TESDA, and DepED must include in their respective budgets scholarships, grants, and loans to deserving students and workers availing themselves of the ladderized system, in addition to existing CHED and TESDA scholarship programs.
HEIs with curricula recognized by CHED may avail of the ladderization program, provided minimum curricular requirements under joint CHED-TESDA-DepED guidelines are complied with and duly certified by these agencies before offering. The HEI must submit the proposed curriculum to the CHED Regional Office for monitoring/compliance and reference inputs; CHED transmits curricula to PQF-NCC. Failure to submit is subject to CHED administrative sanctions.
Nothing restricts HEIs’ academic freedom. The HEI retains the right to assess the level/standard of previously completed TVET programs of an applicant-student transparently and objectively, incorporating its own admission requirements; admission still requires meeting the HEI’s criteria and program requisites.
Initial implementation funds must come from the current budgets and development funds of CHED, TESDA, and DepED. For continuous implementation, funds must be included in the respective annual appropriations of CHED, TESDA, and DepED in the General Appropriations Act.
The IRR must be issued within 60 days after effectivity. The law takes effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.