POLICY NOTES - seameo-innotech.org

State of Technical-Vocational High Schools in the Philippines 1

SEAMEO INNOTECH

Policy Notes are meant

to inform policy and

decision-makers on new

and recent policy-related

scholarly research. This

study was conducted by

the Research Studies

Unit in CY 2007.

Secondary education is at the crossroad of education systems. It is tasked to prepare unprecedented numbers of young people for further learning and sustainable means of livelihood. In the Philippines, far too many young high school students leave high school before earning their diploma. The high school graduation rate is only 58.52% and those who earn their high school diplomas do not possess the necessary knowledge and skills for success in post-secondary education and in the workplace. This underscores the need to strengthen the technical-vocational high schools

in order to bring students into employment and the mainstream of social and economic activities. In these circumstances, SEAMEO INNOTECH

conducted a survey to profile Technical and Vocational High Schools and identify their enabling and hindering conditions. This report outlines the conditions and recommended key reform agenda to improve learning achievements

and investments in the technical-vocational secondary education in the country.

POLICY NOTESSoutheast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology NO. 2008-01

S E A M E OI N N O T E C H

State of Technical-VocationalHigh Schools in the Philippines

2 State of Technical-Vocational High Schools in the Philippines State of Technical-Vocational High Schools in the Philippines 3

The World Bank (World Bank,

1992 Cousing, 1992, Moura Castro, 1999)

reported that technical-vocational education

around the world is marked by poor quality,

very high cost, training not suited to actual

socio-economic conditions, and a disregard

in the labor market needs, resulting in the

high unemployment rate among graduates.

In his State of Education Address

in the 2006 National Education Congress,

Secretary Jesli A. Lapus stressed the

importance of education to the economic

development of the country. He said,

“Education, as we all know, serves as the

foundation for sustained economic growth for

individuals and the nation as a whole. It is the

key to progress.” He also pointed out the need

to provide a solution to the job mismatch

in the country (i.e., graduates do not have

the skills required by

hiring companies).

Therefore, there is

a crucial need to

improve the DepED’s

TVE program to

address this need.

Secretary Lapus said,

“Each year, we produce

thousands of college graduates who cannot find

jobs that fit their skills. In addition, a greater

number of Filipino students fail to enter college

(many of whom do not even finish high school) so

they, too, cannot find jobs even though there are

a lot of jobs both here and abroad. Our graduates

just do not have the proper skills to qualify for

work.”

Secretary Lapus spearheaded the

survey of technical and vocational education

high school programs in order to provide

intervention mechanisms and strategies. He

envisioned a relevant TVE program that

will match job skills requirements in the

workplace. Secretary Lapus further explained,

“With continuous dialogs and partnership

with the Commission on Higher Education

(CHED) and the Technical Education and

Skills Development Authority (TESDA), we

expect to further improve the country’s capacity

to provide relevant education to everyone”.

The DepED, in support of the national

government’s ultimate goal of alleviating

poverty in the country, has been engaging

in several projects that aim to enhance our

country’s TVE system. The aspirations of

the present DepED Secretary to strengthen

technical-vocational high schools is a move

to improve the access of secondary education

students to an educational program that will

uplift them in their socio-economic situations.

Established in a two-track secondary school

curriculum, the Revised TVE curriculum

will allow high school graduates to become

apprentices in industry and eventually take

up gainful employment.

As part of the Philippine government’s

effort to enrich TVE in secondary program in

the country, the DepED tapped the Southeast

Asian Ministers of Education Organization

Regional Center for Educational Innovation

and Technology (SEAMEO INNOTECH)

Research Studies Unit (RSU) to conduct a

survey on technical-vocational high schools

"Education, as we all know, serves as the foundation for sustained economic growth for individuals and the nation as a whole. It is the key to progress."


1915

108

(TVHSs) in SY 2007-08 in order to:

•Determinetheconditionofpublic

technical-vocational high schools in the

country

• Develop regional and national

profiles of technical-vocational high schools

for policy development

• Recommend strategies, policies,

and programs that will help reform the

sector

Distribution of Respondents by Region In an effort to meet the goals that

the DepED set for the study, the SEAMEO

INNOTECH RSU distributed survey

instruments to all 2541 technical-vocational

high schools throughout the country, of

which 220 submitted completed forms as

shown in Figure 1.

Majority of our technical and

vocational high schools are in Region VIII

(44) and the region with the least number of

technical-vocational high schools is Region

XII (2).

48

Figure 1. Comparison of Expected and Actual Number of Survey Respondents by Region

44

0 10 20 30 40 50

1610

3431

2121

126

97

2018

1717

59

85

108

92

189

44

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

Expected

Actual

(Number of Respondents)

1 Basic Education

Information System

2005-2006


INPUTS

• Types of technical-vocational high school by areas of specialization The study revealed that the number

of specialization subjects varied, ranging

from 6 to 14 TVE subjects among TVE high

schools. The types of technical-vocational

high schools showed the underlying

competencies and motivations of the schools

which helped us analyze their structure and

resources. It was found that 46 percent of the

total number of technical-vocational high

schools in the country specialized in arts

and trade. Thirty five (35) percent specialized

in agriculture and 19 percent specialized in

fishery.

• Enrolment It is generally acknowledged that

public schools have high enrollment rates

considering the economic condition of

the country.In fact, enrolment in public

schools doubled after the passage of the

Figure 2. TVHSSpecialization Areas

Fishery (19.0%)

Arts andtrade(46%)

Agriculture(35%)

n=220

Free Secondary Education Act. In SY 2006-

07, there were around 222,995 technical–

vocational high school students. The average

school enrolment is 1,014 students per

school. The enrolment in TVE high schools

mainly depended on the number of students

that TVE schools could accommodate. TVE

schools that are within or near population

and business centers commonly had higher

enrolment.

The class size or number of students

per section ranged from 20 to 50. TVE

high schools have also started to reduce

their number of TVE subject students to

25 students to better deliver instruction or

training.

(Number of school enrollees)

Figure 3. Average Number ofSchool Enrollees by Region

1,035

761

2,986

788

804

1,312

766

800

1,544

1,096

1,133

561

617

376

2,259

500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

1,381

Survey Findings


high schools also increased the duration of

TVE subjects from 1-2 hours per day (or

5-10 hours per week). RTVE specialization

subjects were also mandated to be taught for

an additional number of hours on top of the

regular teaching hours. Some schools paid

their TVE teachers for overtime while some

did not provide any remuneration.

• Average Mean Age of Technical-Vocational High Schools The survey also found that the

average mean age of the technical-vocational

high schools in the Philippines was 25 years

(see Figure 5). This means that they are

generally well established.

• Curriculum Around 42% of the technical-

vocational high schools reported using the

Revised TVE Curriculum (RTVEC) while

16% followed the Revised Basic Education

Curriculum (RBEC). Some 41% used a

combination of the aforementioned curricula

while the remaining 1% used others (see

Figure 4).

During the validation visit, the

research team found out that the distinction

between the Revised Basic Education

Curriculum (RBEC) Curriculum and

Re-designed TVE (RTVE) is not clearly

understood by school administrators and

TVE teachers. Most of them have a common

knowledge that RTVE is a curriculum in

replacement of RBEC.

Majority of TVE high schools

are on the second year of transitioning

from implementing RTVE though some

still used the Technology and Livelihood

Education (TLE). Majority of the tech-voc

Figure 4. TVHS Curriculum Implementation Shares

RTVEC(42%)

RBEC(16%)

Combined(41%)

Others(1%)

n=220

33

34

26

27

20

24

26

27

32

18

27

17

13

19

25

36

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Number of years as a TVE provider)

Figure 5. Average Number of Years as TVE Providers by Region


• TVE Subject Offering An average of seven TVE subject

offerings were offered in each school (see

Figure 6). It was evident that among

technical-vocational high schools,

discrepancies existed in terms of the kind

of offering of specialization, e.g. food

technology-food trades; fish preservation-

fish processing; home economics-home

technology; computer-computer and

information technology.

Majority of the technical-vocational

high schools offered subjects such as

Computer-ICT, Electricity, Electronics,

Journalism, Business Distributive Arts,

Drafting, Metalworks, Home Nursing,

Cosmetology, Food Service Management,

35

28

75

25

24

44

40

21

51

28

20

14

28

21

51

20 40 60 80

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Number of teaching staff)

Figure 7. Number of Teaching Staff by Region

38

10 30 50 70

8

7

12

6

6

8

7

6

5

8

5

6

7

7

11

2 4 6 8 10 12 14

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Number of subject offerings)

Figure 6. Average Number of TVE Subject Offerings by Region

8

Related Crafts, Recycling, Garments

Technology, Culinary Arts, Entrepreneurship,

Foods, Nutrition, Food Trades and

Handicraft.

• Teacher Quality and Ratio Per Student The 220 schools surveyed have a

total of 6,733 teaching staff members. This

was equivalent to an average of 421 teachers

per region or 31 teachers per school. The

average number of teaching-staff members

ranged from 14-75. The survey also showed

that among the 75 teachers in Region IV-A,

23 taught TVE subjects. In NCR, 25 out of

the 51 teachers taught TVE subjects.


Moreover, majority of the TVE

teachers were found to be graduates of State

Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in their

provinces or regions and so shared the same

educational culture and background.

Majority of TVE teachers were also

found to be between 30-40 years old and

resided within or near the municipalities

where the schools they taught in were

located.

The study also revealed that the

average nonspecialist–specialist TVE teacher

ratio was 4:8. It also pointed out that there

were very few TVE teachers (approximately

4.8%) who have had industry background

or experience, most of which are in arts and

trades schools. Majority of them have no

industry experience, especially TVE teachers

from the Agriculture and Fishery schools.

35

28

75

25

24

44

40

21

51

28

20

14

28

21

51

20 40 60 80

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Number of teaching staff)

Figure 7. Number of Teaching Staff by Region

38

10 30 50 70

67

70

49

63

51

61

50

42

39

51

63

58

51

35

38

34

65

10 20 30 40 50 60

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-AB

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Number of students per teacher)

Figure 9. TVHS Teacher–Student Ratio by Region

21

24

10I

Figure 10. Average Number of Specialist–NonspecialistTVHS Teacher Comparison by Region

Specialist

Nonspecialist

62

0 5 10 15 20 25

1

82

123

2

73

63

103

111

44

53

82

41

72

34

1

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Number of TVE teachers)

30

11

10

15

23

10

9

13

12

8

8

8

8

5

9

7

25

5 10 15 20 25

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Number of TVHS teachers)

Figure 8. Number of TVHS Teachers by Region


•TVHS Teachers Training The average number of schools with

recently trained TVHS teachers was four

while those with untrained TVHS teachers

was eight.

These aforementioned TVHS

teachers were found to have been teaching

for an average of 15 years each. Most of

them, however, have not attended technical

training or skills upgrading in the last 3 to

5 years (other than computer training) due

to lack of funds or budgets for technical

training.

• Land Areas of Technical-Vocational High Schools The study also showed that the

average TVHS land area was 11.23 hectares.

Majority of TVE high schools had big

properties though these were not fully

maximized or underutilized. Region II’s

Alcala Rural School had the biggest total

land area of 703 hectares, while San Rafael

National and Vocational High School, also

in Region II, had the smallest (0.01 hectare).

20

14

15

14

15

10

16

14

13

17

15

18

14

11

13

18

19

5 10 15

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Number of years teaching TVE subjects)

Figure 12. Average Teaching Experience of TVHS Teachers by Region

Figure 11. Recently Trained–UntrainedTVEHS Teacher Comparison by Region

38

0

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

Trained

Untrained

5 10 15 35 40

19

399

12

15

43

810

312

54

5

14

53

810

02

33

36

04

(Number of TVE teachers)


It was also found that technical-

vocational high schools had an average of

nine buildings, each of which were around

13 years old.

Among these aforementioned

buildings, an average of 18 classrooms,

three laboratories, and six workshops

could be found. There were also makeshift

laboratories and workshops made of bamboo

and other light materials that are considered

fire hazards and thus unsafe for teachers and

students especially to the TVE subjects that

utilized electricity (i.e. welding, electricity

and electronics technology).

17

15 20

11

9

10

8

9

9

8

9

9

11

5

5

9

6

6

5 10

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Number of school buildings)

Figure 14. Average Number of TVHS Buildings by Region

18

17

18

17

20

14

6

13

14

15

12

13

14

9

12

14

9

5 10 15

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Age of school buildings in years)

Figure 15. Average TVHS Building Ages by Region

46.00

40 50

8.00

4.45

4.00

4.00

9.00

5.00

9.00

22.00

21.00

7.00

4.00

6.00

10.55

19.00

0.75

10 20 30

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Land area in hectares)

Figure 13. Average TVHSLand Areas by Region


• Quantity and Quality of Equipment and Machines The validation visit revealed that

many of the laboratories and workshops were

already old and needed major repair (e.g.

walls, windows, ceilings, floors and roofing).

Some were no longer appropriate for use

as laboratories or workshops. Some school

laboratories and workshops also functioned

as multi-purpose rooms for several TVE

subjects due to a shortage in classrooms and

large enrolment size.

84.60

96.58

95.83

95.83

79.67

90.43

76.89

87.32

82.00

87.50

88.44

95.00

85.00

68.57

78.75

80

61.67

20 40 60

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Percentage)

Figure 17. Average Usable TVHS Equipment Percentages by Region

100

The technical-vocational high

schools also reported average usage rates

of 84.63% and 81.82% for equipment and

machines, each of which were, on average, 12

and 11 years old, respectively.

The importance of equipment,

machines and laboratories cannot be

overemphasized. The state of instructional

facilities of the 220 technical-vocational

high schools turned out to be worn-out and

badly in need of replacement. The quality of

instructional facilities definitely affected the

Figure 16. Average Number of TVHS Classrooms,Laboratories, and Workshops

0 10 20 30 40

I

II

III

IV-B

IV-A

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Number)

174

5

152

6

213

7

395

10

132

4

142

3

223

9

192

9

1333

302

3

191

5

171

4

91

3

122

6

91

3

3110

12

workshopslaboratoriesclassrooms


74.40

52.43

97.78

91.67

95.83

74.29

90.15

64.00

82.24

82.50

90.00

91.82

100.00

85.00

58.33

78.75

20 40 60 80

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Percentage)

Figure 18. Average Usable TVHS MachinePercentages by Region

100

17.50

20

3.50

10.00

9.00

9.00

14.00

13.00

13.20

12.40

10.80

12.50

12.00

12.50

12.00

12.36

10.00

5 10 15

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Age in years)

Figure 20. Average TVHS MachineAges by Region

20

4.60

17.50

11.00

9.00

8.48

12.00

12.00

10.50

11.60

12.60

13.00

9.70

5.25

11.80

10.66

9.00

5 10 15

I

II

III

IV-A

IV-B

V

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

XI

XII

CARAGA

CAR

NCR

(Age in years)

Figure 19. Average TVHS EquipmentAges by Region

quality of graduates these schools produced.

The government can intervene by directly

providing, financing or allocating subsidies to

technical-vocational high schools to enhance

and improve the quality of education they

provide.


The Philippines' Technical and Vocational High Schools are still beset with the problems of quality, relevance, efficiency and access. The survey gave sufficient evidence as to what areas need extensive reform programs. These reform programs should be implemented systemwide and anchored on a TVE development plan that would essentially provide investments and program guidance to enhance and further develop the DepEd’s current TVE program. As such, the suggested systemwide reform program should:

Proposed TVE Reform Agenda

roles they should play. The criteria must stress

quality with regards to TVHS programs

and geographical dispersion throughout the

TVHS network.

Phase out substandard technical-vocational high schools and consider converting them into general high schools instead Poorly equipped and staffed

TVHS must be encouraged to offer general

secondary education program rather than

low-quality TVHS programs with limited

Establish and develop criteria for identifying flagship technical-vocational high schools The study recommends the

development of flagship technical-vocational

high schools that will be fully equipped and

staffed with highly qualified teachers. These

schools will act as nodal centers that will

lead others in the capacity-building strategies

and resource sharing in every region. The

DepED, in consultation with designated

TVE experts, may design the criteria for

selecting flagship TVHSs and identify the


training components. DepED should be able

to identify the weakest technical-vocational

high schools and thus advise them to either

shape up or shift toward becoming general

secondary education providers instead.

Make TVE more relevant A technical-vocational school’s

specialization must be kept in line with the

thriving industries in the local community.

For instance, if the

province or region

is well known for its

exquisite and export-

quality handicrafts,

then the technical-

vocational institutions

in it should implement

a curriculum that leans

toward industrial arts,

home economics, or

entrepreneurship.

Allow or create a TVHS Special Fund Scheme The DepED should propose to

Congress a bill that will support the creation

of Technical-Vocational High School Special

Fund from both private and public sources

which will help upgrade laboratories and

repair workshops to better meet their needs.

This fund shall be used for targeted teacher

professional development programs.

This is in consideration of the findings

of the study that most of the hand tools and

equipment that TVHSs have were already

very old, damaged or deteriorating and thus

were not suited anymore for teaching.

Requiring students to bring their

own hand tools, equipment and consumables

would only result in more dropouts due to

lack of financial resources.

Invest in capacity building and TVHS teacher and administrator training It can be clearly seen that there

is a lack of skilled

technical-vocational

teachers. In our analysis

by region, it is very easy

to see that more of

the teachers handling

technical-vocational

subjects cannot really

be considered experts

in the field. It is clear,

too, that despite their

lack of expertise, they

are not even given

opportunities to

develop their own skills in order to better

impart their knowledge to their students.

It is, therefore, recommended that

DepED prepare a capacity-building plan for

TVHS teachers. To help increase the rate

of TVHS with training from 50% to about

90% trained by 2010, local scholarships

to upgrade teaching quality may be

designed. This scheme will also encourage

new education graduates to apply for work

in technical-vocational high schools. The

scholarship scheme should be accompanied

The DepED should propose to Congress a bill that will support the creation of Technical-

Vocational High School Special Fund from

both private and public sources which will help

upgrade laboratories and repair workshops

to better meet their needs.


by eligibility criteria, award conditions and

selection processes.

Balance the teacher supply with the number of TVE students It is also very evident that despite

the lack of teachers, those that do stay on

and continue doing their jobs seem to be

overburdened in terms of number of students.

This may be especially hard, for instance,

if a teacher handles a class that uses heavy

equipment or machinery that may endanger

their students.

On average, technical-vocational–

subject teachers handle around 84 students at

once. Teachers assigned to handle classes that

may be dangerous

should be given a

little consideration

by lessening their

number of students

per class so they can

more easily supervise

and ensure the safety

of their wards.

An actuarial study on how many

TVHS teachers are needed within the

next five years with the specific areas of

specialization will also assist DepED in

improving its teacher hiring and selection

process.

• Develop a scheme to upgrade TVE equipment and machinery The infrastructure in technical-

vocational institutions should also be

accorded its due importance. Some schools

that have thousands of enrollees only have

a few classrooms and infrastructures should

they have the financial capability to do so.

Technical-vocational schools may need

financial help in order to accommodate all

those who want to become more employable

and productive, as is the DepED’s and

even the national government’s aim. There

should be a project to equip technical-

vocational high schools' with laboratories

and workshops that would bring them up

to speed with prevailing standards in more

developed technical-vocational schools. The

identified Technical-vocational high schools

should receive financial aid from the DepED

to upgrade their laboratories and workshops.

Utilize technical-vocational high schools’ mature technologies to generate income School heads should also be trained

in terms of sourcing support to keep up

with the rapidly changing technologies.

They should not just depend on the budget

that the DepEd gives them. They can,

for instance, solicit tools, equipment, and

machines from huge manufacturers and other

large enterprises that frequently upgrade

or shift to more advanced technologies or

applications by convincing then that they

can get tax write-offs for their contribution.

They should, in other words, try to think out

of the box and come up with ideas that may

improve the quality of education that they

provide to their thousands of students.

School heads should also be trained in terms of sourcing support to keep up with the rapidly changing technologies.


Further strengthen the existing TVE curriculum The DepED should continue to

focus on providing not only quality education

but also useful skills development to learners,

especially to those that do not have the

means to study if high costs are involved. The

use and implementation of Strengthened

TVE Curriculum must be monitored fully

to see proper implementation. Since it has

been observed that technical-vocational high

schools have different ways of interpreting the

technical-vocational high school curriculum,

close monitoring of their implementation is

necessary.

Develop strategic partnership with the community-based industries for facility and faculty sharing The administrators of the 220

technical-vocational high schools should

collaborate with industry partners to meet

their schools' specific educational needs. Lack

of resources can be addressed by convergence,

amalgamation and strategic partnerships.

Review the existing TVE specialization areas The technical-vocational high-

school curriculum can further be developed

in such a way that students can choose what

technical-vocational course they want to

concentrate on, similar to choosing a course

in college. This way, instead of becoming

knowledgeable in different fields, they can

instead become masters in a particular field

of their choice.

Establish a link between the DepEd’s TVE program and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)’s certification system The DepEd, aside from giving

graduates of technical-vocational high-

school–graduates diplomas, can

also give them the equivalent

TESDA certifications on the

technical-vocational skills they

have acquired. Should they then,

for whatever reason, fail to get

a college degree, they may still

have opportunities to get jobs

using their respective TESDA

and DepED HS certificates. A

ladderized interface between

TESDA and DepED is thus

recommended.

• Periodically conduct further studies to review technical-vocational high schools’ progress The DepED needs to conduct

further study to plan and invest for expected

repair, servicing and other requirements of

project laboratories, examining availability

of technicians and maintening repair

workshops and other school infrastructures.

The DepED should consider the proposed

TVHS Special Fund to finance these repair

and maintenance of these laboratory and

equipment.

For comments and

suggestions, write or

email:

The Research Studies

Unit

SEAMEO INNOTECH

Diliman, Quezon City,

Philippines

Tel: 924-7681 or 84

Fax: 9287692

Email- rsu@seameo-

innotech.org

The DepED should continue to focus on

providing not only quality education

but also useful skills development to

learners, especially those that do not

have the means to study if high costs

are involved.

Date post:	10-Jan-2022
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