THE Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) has allocated about P35 million to cover 5,000 recipients of its Training for Work Scholarship Program from Bacolod City this year.
Tesda Deputy Director General for Communities and Local Government Unit Services Diosdado Padilla, who was guest of honor during the 119th Independence Day celebration in Bacolod City Monday, June 12, said the allocation is part of the P3.5 billion national budget of the agency for scholarships this year.
The scholarship program of Tesda mainly includes provision of skills development trainings through technical vocational institutions offering various qualifications registered with the agency.
Padilla said they are currently pushing for additional allocation to double the amount of the current fund to cater to the current more than one million applicants across the country.
“In order for us to provide all the necessary trainings for the recipients, each of them should have an allocation of P7,500,” Padilla said, adding that “we will also try to increase the budget for Negros Island Region, including Bacolod City, to cover more beneficiaries.”
In his speech, the Tesda official said that reforms have been instituted at the agency mainly to stop corruption.
These five reforms are conduct of national technical audit, skills mapping, tendering system, establishment of national inspectorate, and reorganization.
Padilla said a national technical audit is necessary to make sure that all schools are capable of providing the trainings while preventing “ghost scholars” and ensuring that the skills of the trainees are being addressed through skills mapping and national inspectorate, respectively.
“Other measures, especially the reorganization in the regional and national level, are the agency’s steps to abolish favoritism and familiarity which may lead to corruption,” he added.
