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MANILA – The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will be mandated to push for programs that would enhance the skills of child development workers (CDW), Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Monday.
In a news release, Gatchalian said the Committee on Finance approved his proposal to grant funds for the upskilling of CDWs under the 2024 General Appropriations Act.
Under the special provision that Gatchalian proposed, the TESDA shall prioritize the development of a training regulation for qualification in the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council.
The training regulation shall cover existing and incoming CDWs.
Gatchalian said 16 percent or 11,196 of the total pool of CDWs are high school graduates.
Considering the important role of ECCD, Gatchalian said it is crucial that CDWs are equipped with a defined set of skills and competencies for primary caregiving.
He said upskilling CDWs and adding the training regulation and certification will level up their skills and enable them to perform their jobs better.
“TESDA came up with a training regulation for barangay health workers. The same principle applies to our child development workers, our present daycare teachers,” he said.
Gatchalian is the author of the Basic Education and Early Childhood Education Alignment Act (Senate Bill No. 2029), which seeks to ensure the alignment of the ECCD curriculum and the K to 12 basic education curriculum.
The proposed measure also seeks to make local government units more accountable when it comes to the implementation of ECCD programs to include, among others, the achievement of universal coverage for the ECCD system and the augmentation of funds and resources. (PNA)
