Jan Rockefeller Iligan

Policy: Tertiary Education in the Philippines, a Lack of Focus

on Vocational Education
I.

Background

In September last year, the National Statistics Office released its data on the
country-wide unemployment rate. It was relatively unchanged from the year before
from 7.1 percent to 7 percent. Former Dean of the UP School of Labor and
Industrial Relations said that 51.2 percent of the unemployed were in the 15-24 age
group, validating the difficulty of fresh graduates to find work. Alarmingly, 13.9
percent of the unemployed were college graduates.
This writer could not find data on the compatibility of college degrees with actual
employment but one

will

not have

difficulty determining

a couple

of

acquaintances who are nursing license holders working in call centers.

II.

Government Response and Suggested Solution

Republic Act No. 7731 formally abolished, in 1944, the National College Entrance
Examination formerly mandated by Marcos P.D. No. 146. This enabled all high
school graduates to enroll for college degrees as long as they qualified for the
requirements set by tertiary institutions. In a way, it deregulated college education.
It is this writers belief that this decision has not been effective. Unemployment
rates continue to remain the same over the years because of a saturated economy
no longer capable of accepting new workers. And it seems the average Filipino has
an aversion to jobs that are not deemed white-collar.

In the 1960s, the Philippines used to be the top economy in Asia only after Japan.
Korea soon overtook the Philippines and every other country has been doing so in
the years that followed. One thing that is common to Japan and Korea is a rigorous
college entrance test. In Japan, suicide by youths who fail the exam is a common
phenomenon. Also common are institutions called cram schools, dedicated to
review for the entrance test.
Those who fail to pass endeavor to review for the next year or decide to take up
vocational courses. Now, in industrial economies, vocational graduates are greatly
needed. It is this writers belief that the rise of the technology industries of these
two countries can be attributed to their vocational educations systems and the
rigorous college entrance test.
Ours is an agricultural economy, but the youth have no love for farming, looking
down on it like it is a shameful profession. It is shameful only because it is not, at
least now, one of the more lucrative professions. This writer advocates for
vocational institutions similar to Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority that are dedicated to agricultural technology and know-how. A farmer
might sell his carabaos to ensure that his daughter graduates with a college degree
in the city, but there is no guarantee that she will find a job after graduating.
That is because competition by college graduates in this country is cut-throat, if for
no other reason than there are too many competing. The Commission on Higher
Education has rigorous standards for institution accreditation and closes down
mediocre-performing schools. However, with a lack of a standardized college
entrance exam, fly-by-night colleges with middling quality of education still
proliferate and many flock to these in hopes of a better future. These produce

graduates who have difficulty competing with products of the more established
institutions.
A focus on vocational education, the advocacy for more schools dedicated to it must
be endeavored to by government. This must be coupled with the reestablishment of
the NCEE. And a guarantee that the labor sink is available with economic policies
focusing on industry and agriculture and not on corporate interests.