Amended Guidelines on the Packaging Rules of PQF Level Five (Diploma) Programs for the TVET Sector

I. BACKGROUND / RATIONALE

One. The recognition of the PQF Level Five (Diploma) programs is in line with the issuance of Republic Act Number ninety-six hundred sixty-eight entitled "An Act Institutionalizing the Philippine Qualifications Framework on sixteenth January two thousand eighteen and the referencing of the PQF with the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework towards greater mobility of students and professionals within the ASEAN region. As part of the referencing process, the Philippines is required to undergo the process stipulated in the AQRF Referencing Guidelines that include Criterion Three, which illustrates the procedures for inclusion of qualifications in the Philippine Qualifications Register, which is the national database of quality-assured qualifications authorized under the PQF being managed by TESDA.

Two. With reference to TESDA Circular Number thirty-eight, Series of two thousand seventeen, on the "Implementing Guidelines for the Program Under PQF Level Five (Diploma) Pilot which aimed to scale up technical education and address the need to further develop the global competitiveness of the Filipino workers, the PQF Level Five (Diploma) programs covered by this Circular are described by the agreed and developed seventeen Program Learning Outcomes that are adherent to the PQF Level Five descriptors, twenty-first Century skills such as collaboration and teamwork, creativity and imagination, critical thinking, and problem-solving, as well as subjects such as Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, and Nationalism, complemented with graduate attributes of the Sydney Accord (Engineering Technologist).

Three. The TESDA Circular Number eighty-six, Series of two thousand nineteen: Implementing Guidelines in the Deployment of Procedures Manual in the Evaluation of PQF Level Five (Diploma) Programs which provides curriculum developers and Regional Diploma Technical Working Group members acceptable means of evaluating PQF Level Five (Diploma) Program documents for purposes of enhancement and recognition as specified in the Procedures Manual for Evaluation of PQF Level Five (Diploma) Programs. The same Manual was reissued through Memorandum three hundred forty-two Series of two thousand twenty-two regarding Dissemination of e-copy of the Manual on Manual on Evaluation of PQF Level Five (Diploma) Programs.

Subject: Amended Guidelines on the Packaging Rules of PQF Level Five (Diploma) Programs for the TVET Sector

Four. The TESDA Circular Number one hundred nineteen s. two thousand twenty issued on tenth October two thousand twenty, which provides the Omnibus Guidelines on the Packaging Rules of PQF Level Five (Diploma) Programs. These guidelines serve as the basis for recognizing PQF Level Five (Diploma) programs by the Regional Offices of all public and private Technical Vocational Education and Training institutions intending to offer PQF Level Five (Diploma) Programs. The guidelines also ensure the quality assurance of PQF Level Five (Diploma) Programs, contributing to the overall improvement of TVET education in the country.

Five. The TESDA Circular Number twenty-one Series of two thousand twenty-three: General Guidelines on the Minimum Requirements and Provision of Academic Policies for Institutions and Schools Offering PQF Level Five (Diploma) Programs, includes the adoption of an academic calendar, admission and enrollment, dropping and withdrawal of course(s), grading system, academic retention and promotion to the next semester, conferment of academic honors, awards and recognition, and other academic procedures.

Six. The TESDA Circular Number forty-two Series of two thousand twenty-one: Implementing Guidelines on the Area-Based and Demand-Driven TVET, is responsive to the critical needs defined by the industries and employers to produce correctly skilled workers in a specific area or locality.

Seven. The Philippine Credit Transfer System through Joint CHED-TESDA Memorandum Circular Number one: Philippine Credit Transfer System: Interface Between Technical Vocational Education and Training and Higher Education Qualifications provides the framework for learner progression through the PQF levels and supports articulated pathways such as ladderized and embedded TVET and Higher Education programs, credit transfer arrangements that maximize credit through recognition of equivalencies, and assessment of learning outcomes through recognition of prior learning.