DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental (PIA) -- Financial constraint is not a hindrance to education and finding employment.

This was proven by Nico Jaralve, 28, of Dumaguete City after he was able to graduate from college and land a job despite his financial struggles. 

In 2020, Jaralve availed of  the scholarship offered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and enrolled in a three-year diploma course on Software Engineering at the Metro Dumaguete College (MDC).

He said being a TESDA scholar helped him achieve his dream to finish his studies. 

“Dako kaayo’g tabang namong mga estudyante  ang TESDA labi na wala mi trabaho during pandemic, libre pa mi sa tuition naa pa gud mi cash allowance ug gitagaan pa sa panggasto sa among learning materials ug data o Wi-Fi load,” said Jaralve. 

(TESDA has been a big help to us students especially during pandemic. It provided us with free tuition, including cash allowance, learning material allowance, and WiFi load.)

TESDA gives each scholar P27,000 per semester to cover their tuition, P14,700 as allowance, P5,000 for learning materials, and P1,000 for communications expenses.

Jaralve was one of the over 800 graduates of TESDA’s Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) at MDC last year who took up diploma courses in Tourism, Management Technology, Software Engineering Technology, and Digital Arts Technology.  

After graduation, Jaralve was hired by Silliman University in Dumaguete City to work in their technical and vocational training unit. 

“Ang akong skills ug talent na nakat-onan sa TVET, I am now proud na naka trabaho ko diri sa Silliman University Technical Educational Vocational Entrepreneurial Center right after graduation sa MDC,” he said. 

(With the skills and talents that I learned from TEVET, I am now proud that I work here at Silliman University Technical Educational Vocational Entrepreneurial Center right after graduation at MDC.)

Technical Vocational Institution

MDC President Delma Manila thanked TESDA for assisting their school as one of the identified Technical Vocational Institutions (TVIs).

“We ensure that the students here would really graduate, as the teachers have to exert extra effort to do home visitations once a month when a certain student has absences. It’s more than teacher-student relationships,” Manila said.

The scholars come from the different local government units in the province.

“The more scholars from TESDA, the more funding that goes to MDC, and we are assured of funding allocation from TESDA,” said Manila.

She added that the TESDA scholars who graduated from MDC have successfully found employment after graduation.

“Those who graduated in diploma courses are now employed. Twenty percent of them are employed abroad, and 80 percent are working locally while some have their own small-scale businesses,” explained Manila.

MDC expansion

On February 8, MDC opened their new P60-million Campus II Main Building situated on a three-hectare lot at Magatas, Sibulan town.
TESDA7 assistant regional director Floro Ringca and TESDA provincial director Flecher Gumahad attended the campus opening.

Ringca said MDC’s expansion will bring numerous benefits to the TVET ecosystem in the province.

“The possible outcome of this expansion initiatives will increase capacity, allow us to accommodate larger students to access TechVoc, and enhance learning environment with more space and resources, create a more conducive and engaging learning environment, and diversification of offerings of courses based on the identified priority skills in the province,” he said.

There are 1,699 TVET students who enrolled in MDC in 2024.

The new building features more laboratories where the scholars can undergo their hands-on trainings.  (JCT/PIA7 Negros Oriental)