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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
September 15, 2025 | 5:38pm
Stock image of high school students.
Miguel de Guzman
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority have signed an agreement to jointly develop curricula for industries identified as critical to the country’s economic growth.
The collaboration comes as the two agencies continue to face concerns on persistent skills mismatches between graduates and the labor market.
The deal, formalized through a joint memorandum circular signed on Monday, September 15, creates unified bodies that will oversee curriculum standards in six sectors flagged by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2): advanced manufacturing, digital technology, healthcare, financial services, tourism, and the creative economy.
EDCOM 2, a body mandated by Congress to assess and recommend reforms in the education sector, identified the six “priority clusters” in July during a meeting for the Workforce Development National Plan.
The commission’s research found that while the identified industries have strong potential to drive growth, they continue to be hampered by shortages of skilled workers and persistent mismatches between training programs and labor market demand.
At present, CHED and TESDA maintain separate curriculum-setting bodies — technical panels for higher education and industry boards for technical-vocational training. The new memorandum brings these functions under a single framework, which officials said should help streamline program development and avoid duplication.
EDCOM 2 Executive Director Karol Mark Yee said in a statement that the agreement is the answer to the commission's call to build a "working' education system."
What the new bodies will do
The memorandum sets up a Board for Curriculum Standards and Discipline and Sector Skills Councils that will bring together CHED, TESDA, and industry representatives. These groups are expected to
- draft five-year roadmaps for their respective industries,
- contribute to the development of Philippine Skills Frameworks, and
- establish “ladderized” pathways linking TVET and higher education programs.
CHED Chairperson Shirley Agrupis said the measure addresses gaps identified by EDCOM 2, noting that graduates must be equipped not only with academic credentials but with industry-relevant competencies.
TESDA Director General Kiko Benitez described the partnership as a way to make vocational training “more dynamic and responsive to industry needs."
Longstanding coordination problem
EDCOM 2’s previous reports have noted that the weak coordination among education and training agencies — primarily DepEd, CHED and TESDA — is a key barrier to reform.
The commission and other education experts have long pointed to the need for harmonization.
The agreement between TESDA and CHED is an "integral first step in implementing the strategies outlined in the Commission's National Education and Workforce Development Plan, which will be launched this year to steer the country towards a more integrated, data-driven, and competitive education and workforce ecosystem," EDCOM 2 said in its press release.
EDCOM 2 has pointed out that since the "trifocalization" or separation of education agencies into DepEd, CHED and TESDA in the 1990s, there has been a "lack of effective coordination among education agencies toward agreed-upon goals."
Splitting education agencies into three was the recommendation of the first EDCOM in the 1990s to allow each agency to focus on the unique challenges of specific sectors, in this case, basic, higher and technical-vocational education.
