BUTUAN CITY – In line with the free education program of the present administration, Sec. Guiling A. Mamondiong of the Technical Education and Skills Development authority said the scholarship slots for Caraga region next year will double.
This development came after the local tri-media here asked the TESDA chief on what changes the Caraganons will expect from the Duterte administration.
Sec. Mamondiong said this year 11,334 slots were given to Caraga and next year, a total of 30,000 slots will be allocated in the different scholarship programs of TESDA.
The two regular scholarship programs for which the agency has been providing are the Private Education Students Financial Assistance (PESFA), and the Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP).
The PESFA scholarship program was established through Section 8 of Republic Act No. 8545, otherwise known as the Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) Act. PESFA offers educational grants to qualified and deserving college freshmen both in degree and non-degree courses. The program seeks to extend financial assistance to marginalized but deserving students in post-secondary non-degree courses; promote TVET; contribute to the development of a competent skilled workforce; and assist private institutions in their development efforts by assuring a steady supply of enrollees to their course offerings.
The PESFA directed the beneficiaries on the choices of careers to the critical skills requirements of in-demand jobs in the labor market. It also allows for equity distribution of the opportunities made available through government subsidies.
Meanwhile, the TWSP provides immediate interventions to meet the need for highly critical skills. The program has two-fold objectives: 1. To purposively drive TVET provision to available jobs through incentives and appropriate training programs that are directly connected to existing jobs for immediate employment, both locally and overseas and; 2. To build and strengthen the capacity and capability of TVET institutions in expanding and improving the delivery of quality, efficient and relevant training programs that meet job requirements, including programs for higher levels of technology.
The program was launched in May 2006 with funding from the Office of the President and mainstreamed in the regular budget in 2008. This program is a response to the clamor of industry to address the critical skills shortages in priority sectors, particularly the Business Process Outsourcing, metals and engineering, construction and tourism, among others.
Another scholarship, the Special Training for Employment Program (STEP) is a community-based specialty training program that seeks to address the specific needs of the communities and promote employment particularly through entrepreneurial, self-employment and service oriented activities. Aside from free training and competency assessment, scholars will receive starter toolkits and training allowance of P60.00 per day during the entire duration of the program. Said allowance will be released directly to the scholars at the end of the training which they may use as a seed capital to start their livelihood undertakings.
In pursuit of attaining the Philippine Development Plan’s goal of inclusive growth and poverty reduction, and promoting good governance at the local level, the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster (HDPRC), through the Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB) Oversight Agencies, shall implement the Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB). This program seeks to increase citizen’s access to local service delivery through a demand-driven budget planning process and to strengthen government accountability in local public service provision.
The BuB oversight and participating agencies are tasked to ensure the implementation of priority poverty reduction projects as identified at the city/municipal level through the BuB participatory planning and budgeting process.
It is an approach to the preparation of agency budget proposals, taking into consideration the development needs of cities/municipalities as identified in their respective local poverty action plans that shall be formulated with the strong participation of basic sector organizations and other civil society organizations. (RER/TESDA-Caraga)
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