Section 4Sec./Art. 4

Philippine Qualifications Framework. The PQF has the following objectives:

(a) Adoption of national standards and levels for outcomes of education;

(b) Supporting the development and maintenance of pathways and equivalencies, which provide access to qualifications and assist people to move easily and readily between the different education and training sectors and between these sectors and the labor market; and

(c) Alignment with international qualifications framework to support the national and international mobility of workers through increased recognition of the value and comparability of Philippine qualifications.

The PQF National Coordinating Committee (PQF-NCC) is composed of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Department of Education (DepED), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and is chaired by DepED.

In the development of ladderized education, the CHED, TESDA and DepED are hereby mandated to closely coordinate and effectively implement a unified PQF that establishes equivalency pathways and access ramps allowing for easier transitions and progressions between TVET and higher education. The framework shall include qualifications and articulation mechanisms, such as, but not necessarily limited to the following: credit transfer, embedded TVET qualification in ladderized degree programs, post-TVET bridging programs, enhanced equivalency, adoption of ladderized curricula/programs, and accreditation and/or recognition of prior learning.

For this purpose, the CHED, TESDA and DepED shall design harmonized guidelines and equivalency competency courses to enhance the delivery of high-quality technical-vocational and higher education courses, synchronize standards and upgrade curriculum design per discipline and adopt a strategic implementation scheme, including a massive consultation and information dissemination scheme. In so doing, the CHED, TESDA and DepED shall continue exploring and developing other mechanisms and systems that will allow the interface between TVET and higher education with the end in view of creating a seamless and borderless education system.