indigenous peoples in the philippines a framework for

A Framework for Technical Vocational Education and Training for

Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines

Prof. Paul Omar P. Gangoso

Institute for Subanen Studies- Center for Research

Southeast Asian Institute of Public Management Inc.

July 2020

A Framework for Technical Vocational Education and Training for

Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines

About the Author:

Prof. Paul Omar P. Gangoso is a professional fellow of the US State Department -IREX and is currently serving as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Southeast Asian Institute of Public Management Inc. He has numerous awards and more than a decade of experience in policy and action-oriented research in transparency and accountability, governance and technical vocational education.

Contributors:

Efrielle Delight T. Toledo Ms. Jovelyn B. Aberion, MAEd

© 2021 Southeast Asian Institute of Public Management Inc.

All rights reserved.

The copying, distribution, and reproduction of this paper into printed or any form is permitted

without prior written approval of the authors for as long as citation is made and the author is

notified.

ISS Contact Information:

The Institute for Subanen Studies- Center for Research


Southeast Asian Institute Pagadian City Campus

Datoc St, Gatas District, Pagadian City 7016

Province of Zamboanga del Sur

Mobile: +639384020012

Website:www.asianinstitute.edu.ph

Facebook: @subaneninstitute

July 2021

A Framework for Technical Vocational Education and Training for Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines 1

Table of Contents

Abstract 4

Technical Vocational Education and Training for Indigenous Communities in the Philippines 6

Introduction 6

The Evolving Landscape of Technical Vocational Education and Trainings 7

The Existing Framework on Competency -based TVET 11

Looking Deeper into the TVET Framework 13

Course Design Gaps 13

Gaps in Competency Standards Development 13

Gaps in Certification and Assessments and Scholarship Distribution 14

Impacts of the Current TVET Framework Implementation towards IP Communities 15

Empowerment vs Employment 15

Marginalization 16

Model Schools in Technical Vocational Education and Training for Indigenous Peoples 20

The Australian Vocational Education and Training Experience 20

Case Studies of Best Practices in IP Education in the Philippines 22

Case Study 1: The School of Living Traditions 22

Case Study 2: The Southeast Asian Institute Experimental Curriculum 24

Case Study 3: IP Education in Philippine Basic Education 28

Case Study 4: the ALCADEV 35

A Competency-based TVET Framework for Indigenous Peoples 38

Key Principles and Pedagogies 38

IP Empowerment 40

Social Transformation 41

Culture of Peace 41

Factors in Developing an IP-based TVET Competency Standards Matrix 42

Community Ownership 43

Indigenous Knowledge, Systems and Practices 44

Recognition of IP Political Structures 44

Curriculum, Learning Material, Delivery, Assessment and Module Development 45

Proposed Policy Reforms in the Current TVET Framework 46

References 48


Acronyms

DAGI - Dumendingan Arts Guild Inc.

DEPED - Department of Education

IP - Indigenous Peoples

IPED - Indigenous Peoples Education

NC - National Certification

NCAA - National Commission on Culture and the Arts

NTR - No Training Regulation

PQF - Philippine Qualifications Framework

PTQCS - Philippine TVET Qualifications and Certification System

SAI - Southeast Asian Institute of Public Management Inc.

SLT - School of Living Traditions

TESDA - Technical Education and Skills Development Authority

TR - Training Regulation

TTI - Technical Vocational Training Institutions

TVET - Technical Vocational Education and Training

TVI - Technical Vocational Institutions

UN - United Nations

VET - Vocational Education and Training


Abstract

Over the years since the development of the Philippine Qualifications Framework which

outlines the guiding principles as how the Philippine government will adopt a new education

system consistent with the generally-accepted standards of the international education

community, technical education and vocational trainings have emerged as key national

strategies for raising the employability of the the Philippine labor force and reducing the

polarity between the skilled and non-skilled workers as well as the employed and the

unemployed graduates. As with technical vocational training programs developed and

promoted by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, these

competency-based learning systems have been brought to indigenous communities by Technical

Vocational Training Institutions, both public and private.

The curricular design and targeted learning outcomes of these trainings, though, have

limited impacts towards addressing the needs and realities of indigenous populations.

Indigenous communities have been denied the opportunity to take control of their local labor

force’s skills needs and as well as their way towards managing their own economic challenges

and opportunities. These trainings have not been helpful at all in the preservation of indigenous

culture and tradition, including their arts and crafts. If truth be told, these trainings do not

contribute toward the empowerment of indigenous communities and have been driving

community members to migrate to urban-based employment.


This study aims to come up with a working model of Competency-based TVET

Framework for Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines. It will serve as a proposed general

intervention paradigm that will guide technical vocational education and training program

curriculum developers to identify and integrate the underlying theoretical and

culturally-appropriate disciplines into the curricular design of education and skills training

intended for Indigenous Peoples. It will be a new framework, separate from but parallel to the

current TVET Framework adopted by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

Keywords : technical vocational education and training, ip education, tvet


Technical Vocational Education and Training for Indigenous Communities in the Philippines

Introduction

Indigenous peoples in the Philippines face different barriers in education including that

of technical vocational education and training and are being denied access to emerging

employable skills and knowledge. As the United Nations Inter-Agency Support Group (IASG) in

its thematic paper on 2004 points out:

“Children from poor communities, ethnic minority groups and indigenous

peoples face three main barriers. The first of these is lack of access. For children to

receive an education there must be a school within safe travelling distance, with

teachers and pedagogical materials. In many countries, this is often not the case,

especially for ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples who tend to live in remote areas

or who move around. The second barrier is the poor quality of the education provided.

Children from the poorest communities often have inferior educational institutions than

those from richer communities. Children from ethnic minorities may be denied the

opportunity to learn in their own language and their curricula and educational materials

may be grounded in an alien culture. They may even be faced with social stigmatization.

The third barrier is relatively poor outcomes. Children from ethnic minorities and

indigenous peoples do not enjoy the same benefits from education as other children.

They find it harder to get jobs, and their education often does not lead to significant

contributions to life in their community.” 1

1 UN-IASG (2014: 5)


This so-called problem of education not being able to contribute towards personal and

community development serves a dead-end in many Western approaches towards education

interventions in indigenous communities. These educated children and youth tend to leave their

communities and find jobs in urban centers instead of becoming the primary actors in

stimulating inclusive development simply because the knowledge and skills they have acquired

during their education years do not match the conditions of the community.

A bottom-up, community-driven pedagogical and curricula development approach has

to be developed to ensure that the Indigenous communities can attain inclusive development.

The Evolving Landscape of Technical Vocational Education and Trainings

In 2014, the Philippines shifted to outcomes-based education—which occurred much

earlier in the TVET sector--proceeded alongside the curricular revisions in basic (ie. K to 12

reform ) and higher education (ie. new GE curriculum ). While the policies are already in place, 2 3

their implementation at the level of teaching/learning and assessment on the ground is still

uneven. As in the other ASEAN Member States (AMS), the requisite change in mindset and

practice, especially in higher education, remains a major challenge. Nevertheless, significant

headway has been achieved in opening the minds of teachers/professors in Philippine HEIs to

the paradigm shift through the continuing advocacy of the country’s education and professional

regulation agencies, reinforced by international Quality Assurance networks (e.g. the ASEAN

Quality Assurance Network) and accreditation/assessment agencies(e.g. the ASEAN University

2 Kindergarten Education Act in 2012 and of the Enhanced Basic Education Act requiring two years of Senior High School in 2013

3 CMO No. 20, series of 2013.


Network) as well as the support of international agencies in conducting workshops or projects

that enhance learning outcomes-based education (e.g. Support to Higher Education in the

ASEAN Region [SHARE] and the Tuning Asia-South Asia Project to build a framework of

comparable and compatible qualifications). 4

Figure 1: Philippine Qualifications Framework. 5

4 https://pqf.gov.ph/Home/Details/16 5 _Ibid.


The Philippine TVET Qualification and Certification System (PTQCS) is a quality-assurance

system in recognition of the attainment of competencies (knowledge, skills, attitudes and

values) as referred to the competency standards set for middle-level occupation. It is the

process of determining the qualification level of a person and a tool in identifying the training

needs of a person with competency gaps. 6

The national framework for TVET training in the Philippines was established because the

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is a signatory to the Regional

Model Competency Standards (RMCS) of the International Labor Organizations. Such framework

recognizes existing and emerging industries over a wide range of labor absorbing sectors as the

basis for the development of competency standards which are promulgated by TESDA through

Training Regulations. 7

The Philippine TVET framework as reflected through the Philippine TVET Qualification

and Certification System (PTQCS) stratified skills into different levels:

● National Certificate I for routinary and predictable work skills

● National Certificate II for specialized functions and work procedures with minimal

complexity of discretionary skills

● National Certificate III for wider range of skills which involves work supervision

and problem solving; and

● National Certificate IV for complex and non-routine work which requires

organizational leaderships, job evaluation and management skills.

6 TESDA 7 For more information on the PTQCS, see http://www.tesda.gov.ph/uploads/file/philippine %20tvet%20qualification%20and%20certificaton%20system.pdf


TESDA trainings are categorized into different employment sectors such as construction,

agriculture, tourism, among others. Within these sectors are specific training programs based

on specified skills-level training where Technical Vocational Training Institutions have to register

with TESDA and implement with TESDA-certified Trainors/ Experts. Graduates of such trainings

are subjected to mandatory competency assessments in TESDA-accredited Assessment Centers

through a strict set of assessment standards and procedures. Unlike in many Western countries

where skills certification is being done by industries, the Technical Education and Skills

Development Authority embraces full authority on skills certification in the Philippines which

often leads to some companies complaining over TESDA graduates not having the required skills

for actual industry work. 8

To address this, TESDA is updating the competency standards in training programs to

match the changes within the target industries. In addition, many of TESDA’s Training programs

have been recently migrated into new ones and the development of No-Training Regulation

(NTR) programs are encouraged to test-run and match emerging industries such as the public

sector and IT.

Slowly though the Department of Education is taking full control in the implementation

of trainings in Certification Levels I and II through the K+12 Senior High School Program.

School-age youth in Grade 11 and Grade 12 are given the opportunity to take technical

vocational trainings as part of the curricula’s specialized strands.

From National Certification level trainings, TESDA will soon focus on the development of

higher technical education programs in PQF5. Although the Technical Education and Skills

8 http://business.inquirer.net/244167/study-notes-limited-effectiveness-tesda-program


Development Authority (TESDA) is still short of its mandate in promulgating Diploma-level

policies, it is without any doubt the agency will soon evolve into an independent government

institution that will have full authority in Technical Education per se instead of mere technical

vocational trainings. By then, the state agency will begin promulgating standards in 9

Diploma-level education programs.

The Existing Framework on Competency -based TVET

It is important to ask how TESDA-promulgated Competency-based Curricula are being

developed in order to see if there are underlying concepts of Indigenous education integrated

within TESDA program development framework. A closer look at the Competency-based TVET

Framework adopted by TESDA will expose several gaps in relation to principles in Indigenous

community development.

First, the current literature identifies various Training Delivery areas such as

Competency-based Curriculum Development, Learning Materials/ Courseware Development

and Competency Assessment where modules of trainings will adopt the outcomes-based

approach and skills adaptation and knowledge comprehension are based on flexible and more

personal, individualized pacing. Nonetheless, the framework is drawn on an identified demand

for skilled laborers by a specific industry which more likely does not exist in many, if not all,

indigenous communities all over the country. The set of skills that will be translated into specific

learning outcomes in a particular training program including the approaches for competency

assessment to measure capacity change among training beneficiaries have not been specifically

9 Full news at http://www.thestandard.com.ph/sunday-lgu-section-pdf/luzon/236469/tesda-to-become-a-department-says-exec.html


developed by or with indigenous communities. These trainings are obviously not linguistically

and culturally appropriate for Indigenous community education. 10

Figure 2: TESDA Competency-based TVET Framework 11

Second, with education recognized as the centre of efforts to address many of today’s

most critical global challenges including population growth, climate change, urbanisation and

conflict, the TESDA Framework falls short in ensuring that technical education and skills

trainings has to be flexible so it can adapt to the needs of an an ever evolving economic and

political landscape of indigenous societies and communities and it can respond to the needs of

learners within their diverse social and cultural settings’. 12

10 UNESCO (2010b, pg. 25) 11 See www.tesda.gov.ph 12 UN CESCR (1999, para 7(d))


Looking Deeper into the TVET Framework

Course Design Gaps

As far as trainings with existing TESDA-promulgated Training Regulations, there is none

which recognizes among its learning competencies various critical dimensions of community

participation, sense of community, local resource development, social capital, local

empowerment and strategies for building capacities- all of which are key elements in IP

empowerment. Although there is no existing literature which points out that a TESDA training

has resulted in conflict, the same can be said to the absence of any documentation where a

TESDA training has resulted in measurable empowerment of indigenous communities. Basic,

Common and Core Competencies do not include cross-cutting areas of knowledge, skills and

attitudes that are contributory to the above critical dimensions of learning.

Gaps in Competency Standards Development

There is an outright demand for the development of TVET curricula as well as learning

materials and coursewares that will result in the development of genuinely IP-based trainings by

TESDA. But in coming up with such training programs, researchers and policymakers must

consider developing models that go beyond measurable objectives that give due credence to

direct human experience, relationships and value. For a training program to be indigenous

centered, it may consider empowerment with decolonization, healing of conflict, social


transformation where indigenous people themselves identify the processes and methodologies

factoring in community, tradition, culture and values. 13

Gaps in Certification and Assessments and Scholarship Distribution

In terms of certification and assessment, it appears that the Philippine TVET Framework

treats Indigenous peoples the same way as the Australian Indigenous Employment, Training &

Enterprise Development (IETED) models where employment, training and enterprise support for

indigenous people are geared towards purely absorbing them into mainstream industries to

reduce unemployment rates on a national, global and regional scale instead of giving them the

stimulus for self-determination where they will be empowered to generate local opportunities

and face new labor challenges on their own.

The Certification and Assessment standards currently being applied to all TESDA

TR-based trainings contradict all universally-accepted schools of IP-driven education and

training. Traditional quality control of products and services are opposed to commercial

standards in product size, designs, dimensions, aesthetics, materials. Traditional skills and

workflow involves production techniques and procedures which are opposed to accuracy and

uniformity of commercial products.

The qualifications of trainers and assessors under the existing framework recognizes only

the academic, professional and industry experience of certified trainers and assessors. A

TESDA- certified trainer has to achieve National Skills Certification, Trainer’s Methodology

Certification, some Industry-experience and at least Level 5 education credentials. A

13 Smith (1999)


TESDA-accredited competency assessor has to comply with certain industry experience,

Assessorship certification and a strict accreditation and calibration process. These long lists of

trainer and assessor qualifications reject the political systems of Indigenous peoples. In

indigneous communities, tribal leaders, cultural masters, traditional healers and elders are

considered authorities in their respective fields of traditional knowledge and their roles in the

hierarchy of tribal political structures.

When it comes to scholarship distribution, key employment generators from existing

industries should not be the determining factors in the identification of priority training

programs as TESDA currently considers. Lest NTR programs which are IP-driven will be closed

down soon, TESDA should consider providing funds to IP-driven programs which are outside of

the list of current and emerging employment-generating industries.

Impacts of the Current TVET Framework Implementation towards IP Communities

Empowerment vs Employment

Does the current approach adopted by TESDA in the conduct of technical vocational

education and training for IP Communities empower the latter and contribute to their

self-determination and preservation of their culture and traditions? Or does it further

marginalize the Indigenous peoples?


It is an established fact the technical vocational trainings implemented by TESDA has

improved employment opportunities to all employable sectors and to indigenous community 14

members. But the economic impact brought by employment towards the IP members is only

random. Through the years the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority have

repeatedly announced having implemented training programs in indigenous communities and

having provided skills trainings the indigenous community members. Although these trainings

have benefited several indigenous communities per se , these employable skills acquired by

indigenous community members are in nature foreign to their culture and tradition and will

eventually encourage those who have acquired skills certification to become migrant workers.

Marginalization

In a report published by the Japan-based Asia-Pacific Human Rights Resource Center, it is

believed that in many cases, Indigenous customary practices and laws worked favorably for

women. Historically in the indigenous communities of Cordillera, violence against women was a

communal concern and various community internvetions which included persuasive approaches

directed towards men were effective deterrents to VAWC cases. But such institutions of

community involvement and intervention in VAWC cases slowly transformed into a private

household matter due to the deepening westernization of the indigenous society. In a parallel

matter, indigenous women used to enjoy control over forest resources within the tribal

territories. Such control over natural resources empowered women with a sense of economic

and political independence from men in the community. When land registry and forest

14 https://tesda.gov.ph/Gallery/Details/10315


management systems were imposed, women gradually lost this significant social status. The

above cases highly suggest that it is indispensable to “maintain, rather than dismantle, the

traditional economy and value systems, and the customary laws and practices in order to keep

the women's status high and protect their dignity.” 15

In a rapid study on cluster TVET implementation of DSWD SLP in Zamboanga del Sur,

TVET trainings for women in rural communities are entirely limited to Beauty Care,

Dressmaking, Cookery, among other related skills which in plain view would suggest that

women’s place in the employment sector are stereotyped only as non-laborious and non- highly

technical workforce. This predicament gives multiple blows to indigenous women because they

are “women” and “indigenous”(Gangoso, 2018). A key outcome of the Philippine technical

education and skills training framework should be the empowerment of identified marginalized

sectors and women, especially IP women, should be at the frontrow. The importance of

women’s empowerment as a general outcome of the TVET framework should be treated as

indispensable.

The TESDA TVET Framework adopts an up-down approach in developing

competency-based trainings where national and regional level key employment generating

sectors (KEG) extracted from the Labor Market Intelligence Report of the Department of Labor

and Employment (DOLE) are the main factors in determining priorities the distribution of

training scholarship programs as well as the development of new training programs.

Scholarships are only given to programs with a promulgated Training Regulation (TR). Thus the

development and implementation of a No Training Regulation (NTR) program does not provide

15 See https://www.hurights.or.jp


https://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section2/2004/06/resistance-to-development-and-militarization---report-on-the-second-asian-indigenous-womens-conference.html

technical vocational training institutions and trainers the incentives for doing so because there

are no subsidized training vouchers available under the current TESDA Scholarship schemes.

And because IP-based trainings may only fall under the NTR category, it is unlikely that such

programs will be developed and implemented in the near future save for some institutions that

are dedicated towards empowering the Indigenous peoples through IP-driven technical

vocational education and training programs.

In addition to, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority for its part

promulgated TESDA Circular No 3-Series of 2008 which dictates that the key employment

generators will be extensively used as the basis for the distribution of Training for Work

Scholarship Programs (TWSP) and Special Training for Employment Program (STEP). Said 16

circular recognizes Indigenous peoples and cultural minorities as among Special clientele of the

scholarship programs but such provision considers them of parallel importance to a wide range

of other clientele such as farmers and fishermen, workers in the informal sector, senior citizens,

among others which makes the Indigenous communities further marginalized among the

already marginalized sectors.

This is contrary to the concept of bottom-up approach in developing development and

capacity-building interventions for Indigenous communities where beneficiaries themselves will

identify their skills needs. It is a painful fact that these urbanization-contributing key

employment generators dictate TESDA’s priority programs rather than the dire conditions of

rural and indigenous communities. To seriously empower Indigenous communities, there should

be a transformation of power relationships where approaches to IP empowerment should not 17

16 For more information of TESDA Circular No 3-2018 see http://www.tesda.gov.ph/Uploads/File/ TWSP%20and%20STEP/TWSP%202018/TESDA%20omnibus%20twsp-step.pdf 17 Labonte (2002)


be limited to government and community partnerships where technical education and skills

trainings should also be based on indigenous perspectives. It is therefore conclusive to say that

the current TVET policy and framework further marginalizes the Indigenous communities.


Model Schools in Technical Vocational Education and Training for Indigenous Peoples

The Australian Vocational Education and Training Experience

According to Cydde Miller of the National Centre for Vocational Education Research

(Australia), his ten-year research and systematic review show that the national vocational

education and training (VET) system in Australia is still challenged by the goal of reaching a

suitable balance between pursuing equality for all, and training that is compatible and affirming

of Indigenous community aspirations and cultures.It notes that “there are seven factors that will

lead to positive outcomes in vocational education and training for Indigenous Peoples:

● Community ownership and involvement

● Indigenous identities, cultures, knowledge and values

● True partnerships

● Flexibility in course design, content and delivery

● Quality staff and committed advocacy

● Student support services

● Funding and sustainability” 18

Although these factors are manifestations from Indigenous Australians’ aspirations on

VET outcomes, they remain essential in conducting tech-voc trainings regardless of time and

place. The research reflects general strategic and coordinated appropriate policy and practices

applicable to ensure indigenous peoples’ skills for self-development, employment, community

development, and self-determination. Taking into consideration the heterogeneity of

18 Aspects of training that meet Indigenous Australians’ aspirations: A systematic review of research.National Centre for Vocational Education Research(2005) <see: http://ncver.edu.au>


indigenous communities and cultures in the Philippines and in some sense its similarity to

Australia, the TVET experience from the latter serves as a key reference in developing IP-driven

TVET programs in the Philippines.

Figure 3: How the Seven Factors Interact. 19

The Australian experience gives us some important takeaways. Indigenous identities,

cultures, knowledge and values shall be integrated into IP-driven technical education and skills

trainings. Methodologies used in course designs, content and delivery should be flexible. They

should not be constrained to standards utilized in basic and tertiary education that have been

applied in TVET.

19 Ibid.


Case Studies of Best Practices in IP Education in the Philippines

Case Study 1: The School of Living Traditions

The School of Living Tradition (SLT) is a project of the Subcommission on Cultural

Communities and Traditional Arts of the NCCA which establishes informal learning systems in

indigenous communities where indigenous knowledge and skills are taught to young IP

members by cultural masters (Talavera,2015). SLT’s are established with technical and financial

support from NCCA in different parts of the country. The SLT Model includes:

● Living Community as Learning Center

● Non-formal Civic Center

● Formal School Type

● Non-Formal Workshop/Demonstrations

● The Living Master as Resident Artist

In the province of Zamboanga del Sur, the SLT’s are organized by the Dumendinga Arts

Guild Inc, a non-profit organization supported by the NCCA. In their experience, the

Dumendingan Arts Guild Inc or DAGI has gone beyond being an organization devoted towards

the preservation of indigneous culture and the arts to becoming an organization synonymous to

NCCA and Subanen. Over the years, DAGI has successfully carried out programs from

capability-building of emerging cultural organizations to providing technical support to

indigenous artists. DAGI’s success is the result of their deep rooted and first hand experience

with indigenous communities. Key takeaways from DAGI’s experience are as follows:


1. For educators and trainers, it does not always mean that someone from outside

the community cannot be effective and will be rejected. Living ample time with

the Subanen people is key to their acceptance and support as in the case of

DAGI’s experience.

2. Respect to Cultural Masters, giving them high regard, regardless of their formal

education credentials, ensures success in the conduct of training. This is

secondary to financial and technical support. The cultural masters’ interest in the

conduct of training to younger generations especially on skills and craft relating

to their culture is the preservation of their tribe’s indigenous knowledge and

skills, culture and tradition.

3. In all of the types of skills training done in indigenous communities, those whose

ultimate outcome is the preservation of traditional language & cultural practices

are the ones which are sustained and have gained unquestionable success.

4. According to DAGI’s experience, using an IP-centered approach in project

development- meaning from planning, to implementation, monitoring and

evaluation, the participation of tribal leaders and cultural masters are

indispensable. While there are legal procedures in accordance to the Indigenous

People’s Rights Act that must be observed in the conduct of any project within IP

communities, the tribe’s historical and cultural practices such as spiritual

offerings, rituals and consultation processes take precedence.


Case Study 2: The Southeast Asian Institute Experimental Curriculum

A private Deped-recognized and TESDA-registered academic institution in Western

Mindanao, the Southeast Asian Institute of Public Management Inc. has established a

pioneering initiative to integrate IP education into Senior High School Technical Vocational

Strands, and has developed a TESDA NTR Program in Traditional Fabric and Non-fabric Design (

Weaving, Embroidery and Beadwork).

A. SAI’s Senior High School Program for Indigenous Youth

Southeast Asian Institute’s experimental Senior High School Program for Indigenous

Youth started in 2018 with a cohort of Subanen students who are native Subanen speakers

(non-Cebuano speaking) from a highly homogenous Subanen community and are not likely to

proceed to Senior high school levels due to absence of financial capacity and access to a public

high school. Forty-eight students, mostly girls, are given full scholarship support-allowances,

tuition fees, uniform, books, board and lodging, among others. Far from their remote village,

almost inaccessible by vehicle transportation, 89 kilometers from the closest urban center,

these senior high school students live in a subsidized dormitory at the Southeast Asian

Institute’s Pagadian City Campus. As to curriculum, Southeast Asian Institute’s IP-based Senior

High School Program adds two mandatory elective courses: Subanen Studies and Subanen

Language, divided into two levels each for Grade 11 and Grade 12. These two courses are taught

in both English and Subanen mediums. All Core courses such as Math, English and Sciences as

well as specialized technical vocational courses are taught in English and Subanen as well.

Professional teachers who are native Subanen speakers are especially hired to handle the core


and specialized courses. But for the elective courses which cover Subanen culture, history,

tradition, and arts and craft, the Institute tapped cultural masters to teach, providing them

technical, logistical and financial support. During a course of two years, the Southeast Asian

Institute has been able to develop learning modules with learning activities based on the actual

learning sessions led and managed by the Subanen cultural masters. On a more foundational

level, the Institute believes that the IP-based program should be able to break cultural barriers

between Subanen and non-Subanen students and it should encourage Subanen and

non-Subanen students to use the Subanen language in the same way Cebuano is used. If these

long-term outcomes are achieved, the threat of Subanen language dying out will be reversed.

SAI’s Senior High School Program for indigenous youth teaches us the following key takeaways:

1. Cultural education should not be limited to IP communities and members. In fact, it

should be made mandatory to non-IP learners in both IP and non-IP areas. It is possible

to integrate IP Studies and IP Language courses in the Senior High school levels.

2. Native language should be used as a second language among learners, both IP and

non-IP in technical vocational courses.

3. For a technical education program to succeed, cultural masters and tribal leaders should

play a crucial role and recognition and resources should be accorded to them.

4.

B. SAI’s TESDA NTR Program in Traditional Design (Weaving , Embroidery and Beadwork)

Southeast Asian Institute ventured into developing a technical skills program that

focuses on indigenous craft skills that will cover Level I to Level III of the Philippine

Qualifications Framework. In a conference organized by TESDA Zamboanga del Sur to initiate


IP-driven programs, the author presented a

curricular design framework for its NTR program

consistent with the competency standards of

TESDA (Gangoso, 2019). The Traditional

Decorative Textile/ Fabric & Non-fabric Design

(Weaving, Embroidery & Beadwork) Curricular

Matrix is structured into the following TESDA/

PQF levels:

● Level I- Traditional Weaving/

Embroidery/ Beadwork Assistant

● Level II- Traditional Weaver

● Level III- Cultural Master

The curriculum was developed by SAI

with the Subanen cultural masters and tribal

leaders as the key panel experts. A feasibility

study was made and the program was applied 20

for registration at the TESDA Zamboanga del Sur

Provincial Office as an NTR Program. It was 21

implemented with success despite the absence

of support from TESDA.

Figure 4: SAI Curriculum in Traditional Design PQF Levels I-III

20 Market Research Study on the Entrepreneurial and Opportunities of Graduates in Traditional Decorative Textile/ Fabric & Non-Fabric Design (Weaving Embroidery & Beadwork) , by P Gangoso

21Ibid


From SAI’s experience in developing an IP-based technical training program that shall be

registered as an NTR Program of TESDA, the following are the key takeaways:

1. The program’s key principles includes: First, the IP (Subanen) communities right to

self-determination must be recognized where they shall be given the opportunity to

identify and prioritize which traditional industries and what government-recognized

training programs shall be developed. Second, the standards of skills, training activities,

and assessment of learner outcomes are based on tradition rather than commercial or

global industrial standards. Third, that knowledge, skills and attitude development is

anchored on the preservation of the local community’s indigenous culture and tradition,

rather than to increase the employability of learners into urban-based industries.

2. In terms of curricular content, the identification of tools and equipment as well as the

production process of crafts should be based on traditional and historically appropriate

standards instead of commercially available ones. In weaving for example, the

measurement of specific raw materials shall be done by using the trainee’s thumb

instead of a ruler.

3. In terms of training delivery, training should be done using the native/ indigenous

language. The trainer should be someone who enjoys the status of a cultural master or

a tribal leader. Teaching methodologies should be flexible, non-linear and

non-structured. In IP culture, rituals are performed prior to, during and after the

learning sessions.

4. In the development and application of these types of programs in TESDA , support and

appreciation including funding should be provided by the government agency. SAI’s

experience suggests that the TESDA does not give funding, and the application of such a

program takes longer than the usual TR-based training simply because there are many

requirements which are inappropriate to the IP-based nature of the training program.


Case Study 3: IP Education in Philippine Basic Education

The United Nations Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) provides for

the right of IPs “to establish and control their education systems and institutions providing

education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching

and learning”. Other than its membership to the UN, the Philippines remains a signatory to 22

more international treaties and agreements for the protection of IP rights and cultural 23

preservation.

Critical developments on education, however, have manifested in recent years. These

are products of successful interventions by the DepEd, non government organizations (NGOs),

IP organizations (IPOs), and other community-based initiatives which effectively respond to the

learning needs of indigenous learners.

As the government’s arm in nurturing Filipinos’ basic education, the Department of

Education (DepEd), in line with its constitutional mandate and adherence to the Indigenous 24

Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997, implements the Indigenous People’s Education (IPEd)

Program in 2011 in response to the right of IP to education—formally institutionalizing IP

context, respect to their identities, and promotion of indigenous knowledge, skills, and other

aspects of their cultural heritage. Not long after the enforcement of DepEd Order No. 62, s. 25

2011 (DO62) outlining the policy framework for IPEd Program, the new K to 12 Basic Education 26

Curriculum was adopted in 2013 ⼀ subscribing to the international demands of educational

22 Art. 14.1, page 7 23 Education for All (1990) and the Millennium Development Goals (2000); 1990 World Declaration on Education For

All (also known as Jomtien Declaration); 2000 Dakar Framework for Action; etc. 24 Article XIV, Section 2.4; Article XIV, Section 17 25 RA No. 10533. Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 26 Enshrined under DO62 is the Indigenous Peoples Participation Framework (IPPF) for the Teacher Effectiveness and

Competencies Enhancement Project (TEACEP)


standards and principles that are: inclusive, culture-sensitive, and flexible enough to enable and

allow schools to localize, indigenize, and enhance based on the community’s educational and

social context . 27

In a study by Maria Lourie Victor and Belmer Yano (2015) on the areas of interface of 28

perspectives in formulating a meaningful national policy framework for indigenous peoples’

education, DO62 was in fact “the first rights-based, comprehensive, and systemic policy on

culturally responsive education for indigenous children and youth”—a product of decades of

dialogue between indigenous communities. Its institutionalization was a drastic move from the

preceding policies by DepEd that catered to more specific concerns (e.g., recognition of

community-based schools in IP areas, production of educational resources), local in scope

(regional, division, school levels), and tended to focus on service delivery. 29

Embedded in this national framework are a series of community engagements and

consultations with IP authorities to ensure that all initiatives of the Program are responsive 30

and appropriate to the local community.. These foundational mechanisms and processes paved

way for succeeding major initiatives which include the following:

● Training of School Heads and Teachers of schools with 100% IP enrollment

● Development of a contextualization process for lesson plans and other learning

resources appropriate to IP learners

27 RA No. 10533 . Section 5 (h) 28 Actualizing the Inclusion of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in Education: A Policy Initiative in the Philippines. Human

Rights Education in Asia-Pacific. 29 Ibid. 30 Department Order 34, s. 2017 or the Guidelines on the Formation of Consultative and Advisory Bodies (CAB) on IP

Education in Regions Implementing the IPEd Program.


● Development of the four minima needed for the implementation of the Mother

Tongue-based Multilingual Education (MTB- MLE) of IP languages

● Regularized capacity building of community elders, leaders and representatives

involved in the IPEd Program

● School establishment in areas with no education services

● Establishment of pioneer senior high schools designed and anchored on the

community’s Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSPs) and

community context

● Development of key policies to support IPEd Program implementation.

The philosophy behind these educational initiatives are akin to the concept of

Indigenous Learning Systems (ILS) and IP knowledge and wisdom under Indigenous Knowledge

Systems and Practices (IKSP). Both reflect the IP/ICCs way of life or culture through time.

Education and culture are thus understood to be intrinsically intertwined, and are central to the

life of the community in the preservation of their identity.

The actualization of the indigenous peoples’ rights in education is slowly unfolding.

Through the years, data available to the Department show that several targets were met: (1)

devolution and implementation of IPEd to 117 division and 16 regional field offices and focal

persons all over the country to guarantee IP and local community consultations ; (2) as of SY 31

2018-2019, DepEd totaled 2,593,555 IP learners upon provision of more educational inputs ; 32

and (3) by SY 2017-2018, the IPEd Program reached the school level with the national

31 For more information, se e: TEACEP. Draft 32 deped.gov.ph


implementation of contextualized lesson plans in Kinder and Grade 1. As of SY 2019-2020, there

were 3,034 IPEd implementing schools using contextualized lesson plans. 33

The existing IPEd Program manifests the efforts by the government in fulfilling its

Millennium Development Goal on Education For All (EFA). However, anecdotal evidence and

available reports suggest low survival and completion rates among IP learners. “The formal 34

education system in the Philippines had not addressed this aspect of indigenous peoples’

educational needs.” (Victor and Yano, 2015) Such result is not only limited to the usual problem

of access to and quality of education in the school system. There were hidden barriers such as 35

the following:

● Experiences of discrimination based on one’s ethnic identity, considered to be “native”

or “tribal;”

● Difficulties with the language of learning because the language used in school was

different from what was used at home and in the community. The inconsistency of

languages used hindered the development of learning skills and comprehension of

topics being discussed;

● Comprehension difficulties because the social and cultural contexts of the lessons

differed very much from the realities of the indigenous children’s communities; and

33 DepEd Order No. 50, s. 2016 or Hiring Guidelines for Teacher I Positions for Schools Implementing IPEd Effective SY 2015- 2016. As of SY 2018-2019, 2,177 teachers have been hired through this policy, most of them IPs themselves. Source: TEACEP. Draft

34 EED-TFIP (EED Philippine Partners Task Force for Indigenous Peoples Rights) study in 2004 (As cited in: Cariño, Jacqueline K. 2010. Country Technical Notes on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues: Philippines. Draft. International Fund for Agricultural Development. (p. 17)

35 National Study by the Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples (2008), cited by Victor and Yano (2015)


● Cognitive dissonance and personal tensions that became tensions in the family and

community because their identity and the way of life practiced at home and in the

community were negated and/or considered primitive and backward in school.

Despite the attempts made by DepEd to provide a rights-based approach to IP’s basic

education, it falls short in establishing a strong advocacy for the preservation and

empowerment of IP knowledge, systems, and practices. The IKSP must be observed with utmost

self-determination, safeguarded community and intellectual rights, and equitable sharing of

benefits reserved for the cultural well-being of IP communities. These hidden barriers have 36

brought about the “alienation of indigenous youth from their own communities, heritage,

culture and history.” A study by Lilibeth Villaplaza (2021) among schools with IPEd programs 37

validates the foregoing—that in terms of pedagogy and methodology and IKSP got a

“satisfactory” rating, while curriculum content and planning language of instruction, teacher

training, materials, and assessment and evaluation got a “poor” rating. Hence, recommending 38

the DepEd to intensify the participation of stakeholders in the instructional materials design and

development, and to craft curricula that originate from the grassroots IKSP.

The same can be accounted for by the absence of an IPEd integration or curriculum on

Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) given the adoption of the Philippine

Qualification Framework and with the enhanced basic education. The introduction of the TVL

track in the Senior High School program was a pivotal development where closer coordination

36 NCIP AO No. 1, s. 2012. 37 Ibid. 38 Level of Implementation of Indigenous Peoples Education Program in Agusan del Sur, Philippines. Asia Pacific

Journal of Contemporary Education and Communication Technology.


and collaboration between DepEd and TESDA has been critical: requiring the two agencies to

work together in the integration of TVET skills, competencies, and qualifications (including in

Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) in Junior high school) as translated into the

corresponding Curriculum Guides; ensuring that senior high school TVL graduates are eligible

for TESDA assessments (i.e., COC, NC I, or NC II); developing learning resources that are aligned

with TESDA’s training regulations; and developing in-service training and certification programs

for TLE and TVL teachers.

Here are key takeaways in IPED with regard to IP Education:

1. Deped has shown that Integration of IP Education into the Philippine Basic Education is

possible whereby IP members can be developed or tapped into teachers. To date when

access to basic education in rural areas is steadily improving, more and more indigneous

community members are completing postsecondary and licensure education in

teaching. These emerging workforce could be developed into cultural education

specialists.

2. IPED experience shows that there is a demand for serious efforts to develop IP-based

learning materials. While IPED has been creating “contextual” learning materials which is

a good start, IP-based learning materials are yet to be developed. Meanwhile, Curricular

development that shall apply IP-based education principles has not been seriously

considered yet. It is therefore important for IP education not only to use IP/native

language as a medium of instruction or to use IKSP as basis for “contextual” learning


materials development, but to develop materials and curricula where IP members

themselves develop, teach and utilize.

3. While it is significantly a good practice to tap native speakers of IP languages among

public school teachers as IPED instructors, there is no platform or systematic plan to tap

existing “cultural masters” or “tribal leaders” among IP communities as IPED Instructors.

In Subanen, they are the “ Gukoms,” Thimuays” , and “Balians“. There have been

attempts to “consult” them or “solicit” their ideas but DepEd refuses to recognize their 39

position in the community simply because they do not qualify to become a part of the

elite and professional education community. While most cultural masters lack the

academic credentials required to become a licensed public school teacher, they enjoy

culturally and historically-established political leadership and an unequivocal degree of

respect from among the IP community members. When indigenous culture, history and

tradition, not basic literacy, are concerned, cultural masters are the authority in the

field. They do not need a PhD or a college degree or a professional eligibility to attain

such status. Is it really difficult for our policymakers to understand this? It is therefore

imperative that for technical education programs to succeed, traditional leadership and

political structures should be applied as among special requirements for trainers or

should be given equivalency to academic requirements.

39 Ibid.


Case Study 4: the ALCADEV

Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development, Inc. (ALCADEV)

was established in July 19, 2004 as an alternative learning system especially designed to provide

secondary education to indigent indigenous youth -the Manobo , Higaonon, Banwaon,

Talaandig and Mamanwa. They live in the poverty-stricken mountains of Surigao del Norte and

Sur, Agusan del Norte and Sur (Caraga Region , Philippines). 40

According to AlCADEV’S Blog Site,

“There are no schools in these communities. Children walk under the scorching

heat of the sun or even brave storms to reach the town centers where the schools are.

Oftentimes , these schools are some 20 kilometers away from their homes. It is no

surprise that even before the year ends, many of the indigenous youth drop out of the

school. Their parents could not keep up with the high cost of transportation, food and

lodging and other expenses necessary to finish even a year in high school. The

indigenous youth also endure and are most of the time discouraged by derogatory

remarks and treatment from the lowlanders who consider them as second class citizens.

Cognizant of the aspirations of the indigenous youth and their families and communities,

ALCADEV fills in the void by providing secondary education that is relevant to their

culture and needs. ALCADEV ensures that the knowledge and skills the indigenous youth

acquire from school serves not only their individual growth but also the development of

their communities.

40 See https://alcadev.wordpress.com


ALCADEV offers academic studies, vocational and technical skills. Students are

likewise linked up with their communities through various activities with their parents

and community members.

ALCADEV closely coordinates with the indigenous people’s organizations and also

with the Department of Education-Bureau of Alternative Learning System (CARAGA and

Surigao del Sur), TESDA, local government units, private and public schools and

nongovernment organizations that promote alternative farming technology and offers

various livelihood skills training program.” 41

While ALCADEV has drawn a lot of controversy in relation to its political affiliation to

progressive movements in the Philippines, there is no doubt about their best practices.

In 2014, ALCADEV received the Most Outstanding Literacy Program in the Province of

Caraga. In the same year, Alcadev was nominated and won 5th place in the National Literacy

Awards Outstanding Literacy Program Category of the Department of Education (DepEd). and in

2015, while in evacuation, Alcadev students and teachers led the communities into developing

idle lands from farmers' organizations and support groups, allowing them to use the farming

skills learned at Alcadev. As a result, they were able to fill the food needs of 3,000 evacuees and

were able to sell some more, according to a 2017 updated report prepared by NGOs and church

institutions that support tribal schools in Caraga. 42

41 Ibid . 42 https://www.rappler.com/nation/caraga-school-focused-agriculture-help-sustain-lumad-communities


These recognitions are an evidence of the effectiveness of ALCADEV’s pedagogical

approach in IP education. Sustainable vocational farming skills training with long-term capital

and technical support provides economic stimulus to impoverished and inclusive indigenous

communities. Its DepEd-sanctioned Alternative Learning System (ALS) program provides

alternative formal learning to communities which have no access to the DepEd’s basic public

school education services. Having access to basic literacy and foundational skills education

highly empowers these indigenous communities. The inclusion of technical education along

with the promotion of local tribal culture and tradition into these learning platforms that

ALCADEV provides to indigenous communities creates a political vacuum brought by the

polarity between rural and urban and between IP and non-IP communities in the Philippines in

terms of access to basic education. There is beyond any doubt that such an approach in both

formal and vocational skills training applied by ALCADEV hits the very core of IP empowerment-

decolonization and social transformation. Healing of conflict resulting from social justice is 43

one area where the Philippine government needs to look into as the current militaristic

approach is a long step back from upholding IP rights. In the ALCADEV experience, indigenous

people themselves identify the processes and methodologies factoring in community, tradition,

culture and values . 44

43 Smith (1999) 44 Ibid.


A Competency-based TVET Framework for Indigenous Peoples

Key Principles and Pedagogies

Technical vocational education should encompass indigenous, community-based

principles. It must contribute to the reversal of the impacts of long, historical colonization 45

brought by education itself, ironically, and most particular of these impacts is the subjugation

and marginalization of indigenous peoples- their culture, knowledge and even language (May,

1999). It must seek to counter the assimilation of indigenous culture and language into

dominant culture and languages of education systems which are primarily, if not exclusively,

developed and controlled by non-indigneous educators (cf Anderson,1991), a precept that

prevails in today IPED framework of the Philippines’ Department of Education.

Technical skills trainings currently implemented by TESDA on a general scale which

includes indigenous communities as among its recipients should utilize linguistically and

culturally appropriate training implementation approaches. While these programs do not

necessarily follow IP-driven pedagogies, they must at least recognize the economic, political,

and cultural and linguistic structures of indigenous communities.

But TESDA must not settle for less in terms of developing programs that will follow a

new framework for IP-driven technical education and skills training. It must not confine its

mandate into the domain of global skills competency alignments without taking into account

the growing demand for IP-based skills trainings. The current TVET Framework should be able to

contribute to the targeted outcomes of the Sustainable Development Goals or Agenda 2030

45 For detailed discussion, see : May, Stephen (1 January 1999). Indigenous Community-Based Education


https://books.google.com/books?id=WmUSPSLxlPQC&pg=PA1&dq=indigenous+education#v=onepage

which includes in many areas the Indigenous Peoples. On a country-level, the TVET framework

must incorporate or explicitly pronounce the inclusion of the Indigenous Peoples empowerment

through technical education and skills training as among its long-term development agenda. It

must afford to Indigenous peoples the spirit of RA 8371 and its Implementing Rules and 46

Regulations which recognizes the right to equal opportunity and treatment towards them.

From this point onwards, we will discuss the proposed Competency-based TVET

Framework for Indigneous Peoples.

Figure 5: A Working Model: TVET Framework for Indigenous Peoples

46 RA 8371: Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997


An ideal school in TVET for Indigenous Peoples should adopt three highly recognizable

core principles that correlates to global impact levels: Empowerment, Social Transformation,

and Culture of Peace.

IP Empowerment

For this paper’s purpose,

we will define IP Empowerment as

granting Indigenous Peoples

exclusive control in the utilization

and development of their

resources, including their ancestral domains, and of their way of life identity, language, culture

and spiritual beliefs without intervention and coercive imposition of policies from state actors

that counters their right to self-determination. IP Empowerment is widely recognized as an

indispensable core principle in IP Education. In retrospect, IP education must be able to close

the polarity between indigenous and non-indigenous learners in terms of success. Language

death (Crawford, 1994) must be reversed and indigenous language use must be promoted to

non-speakers both indigenous and non-indigenous learners in basic education. This is only

possible if the Competency Standards in technical education and skills trainings are primarily

driven by the Economic, Political and Socio-cultural interests of the indigenous peoples. Also,

Indigenous Knowledge Systems must be at the core of the curricula of technical education and

skills programs. Community-recognized political structures must be incorporated in learning


delivery, trainer and assessment standards with the tribal leaders and cultural masters at the

forefront.

It must decolonize indigenous communities from deep-rooted impacts of coercive and

assimilative education systems , past and present. TVET education must eventually heighten the

economic and political status of Indigenous peoples on a national and regional and even global

scale.

Social Transformation

Social transformation can be defined as the conscious process of change of an

individual’s identity and of the society to which one belongs over time in terms of social

relationships, behavior and values as a result of economic, political and cultural development

including technological advances and innovations. Taking into account the marginalization of

indigenous peoples and the colonization of indigenous knowledge and systems, an TVET

Framework for IP’s must be transformative in a way that it will return to the indigenous peoples

the latter’s right to determine their own future. It must effectively break the cultural barriers

between IP’s and non-IP’s in the Philippines to give the former economic and political leverage.

Indigenous women who have been robbed of their historical societal leadership in IP

communities must be given special treatment in all education and training programs.

Culture of Peace

Technical education and skills trainings must contribute towards healing conflict brought

by colonial education. A peace-based approach in curriculum development and skills training


implementation should be adopted. The individual skills of adult tribal members along with

their collective assets must be exploited in the process of establishing an effective collaboration

among parallel initiatives and in mainstreaming indigenous knowledge into existing and future

technical vocational education and training programs. Resistance and negative perception

towards technical education and skills training interventions from IP members are often the

result of linear, time-paced and traditional training pedagogies used by TESDA trainers and

Techvoc Training Institutions (TVI). Technical education and skills development specialists

therefore should adopt a method of engaging indigenous communities based on the latter’s

interest and terms and must look forward to contributing to the healing of historical conflict and

to the culture of peace. Culture of peace as defined by the UN is “a set of values, attitudes,

traditions and modes of behaviors and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts by

tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation among

individuals, groups and nations.” 47

Factors in Developing an IP-based TVET Competency Standards Matrix

An IP-based competency standards matrix follows a bottom-up, community-driven

pedagogical and curricula development approach. It must factor on the economic,

socio-cultural and political realities of indigenous communities.

47https://undocs.org/A/RES/53/243


Community Ownership

Community ownership at one

hand is having community members

take the lead in the implementation of

an education or training program; on

the other hand, it is also being able to

address the economic needs and

challenges of an individual IP member and the IP community as a whole. In the process of

developing IP-centered competency standards, it is important to appraise dire local

employment and household income issues of IP communities. More often, these issues bury

the more ethnocentric interest of tribal leaders in preserving tribal traditions. When tribal

communities have full ownership of the trainings, they will find it more difficult to turn their

back on these crucial community issues and the outright impact of these trainings on their

economy will ensure that. At the household levels for instance, women are often limited to

household work and when employment and income by men cannot provide for the needs of a

growing family or has become impossible, the drive for women to take on the responsibility to

earn for a living will overwhelm household and community political structures. In many

Subanen communities in Western Mindanao, tribal leadership is no longer exclusive to men as

women are getting more and more empowered without breaking the values and traditions of

their respective communities. This evolving politics within indigenous communities can be taken

into consideration in the development of training intervention models. Women should be given

a dynamic and empowering role and their drive for economic empowerment should be given


emphasis. An IP-centered technical education and skills training model must therefore empower

communities to take control of their local employment and economic challenges and encourage

community ownership of such training programs.

Indigenous Knowledge, Systems and Practices

The Tradition and Culture of Indigenous peoples, and not the industry standards outside

of the community, should determine the standards of skills certification systems in IP-based

TVET Programs. Core competencies in technical education and skills programs must reflect

cultural identity and tradition of indigenous peoples. Indigenous knowledge, systems and

practices should define the skills sets in specific learning outcomes of basic and common

competency standards. These standards should be flexible and adaptive to each specific IP

tribal community. Trainings must be delivered in native languages and if practical, as a second

language in communities where indigenous languages are totally assimilated or dead. In arts

and crafts, creativity must take precedence over market standardization.

Recognition of IP Political Structures

Political structures and mechanisms in IP communities must be respected in a way that

the competency standards defining the technical and academic requirements of TVET educators

and trainers must be in accordance with the realities in IP communities. Cultural masters must

be accorded high regard in terms of their qualifications equivalent to certified training

specialists or licensed formal education practitioners. Their formal education credentials do not

matter. Their knowledge and skills are paramount and magisterial. Recognition of Prior Learning


or RPL should extend beyond a person’s educational and professional background to take in

tribal leadership status of cultural masters.

Curriculum, Learning Material, Delivery, Assessment and Module Development

Following the

horizontal order of TVET

Competency Standards

development, both

policymakers, and technical

educators and skills trainers

alike must ensure that course

modules are designed as flexible as possible in outlining specific learning activities and delivery

methods to allow IP trainers to apply tribal religious practices and traditions. Developing a

competency-based curriculum requires the utilization of participatory, non-formal

communication approaches in training program development and planning, curriculum design

and implementation. Curriculum developers must ensure that competency -based curricula are

not developed in a linear, structured manner. The critical dimensions of learning such as

community participation, sense of community, local resource development, social capital, local

empowerment and strategies for building capacities are integral aspects of the curricula.

Content of training should be based on community-accepted traditional standards such as

styles, designs, patterns, processes, tools, equipment among others. Trainings should be

delivered in native tongue/ indigenous language in linguistically homogenous IP communities. In


areas where indigenous language is no longer used as a mother tongue, the native language

should be used as a secondary medium of instruction and language classes shall be included as

an elective competency. The conduct of assessment and skills certification does not necessarily

follow the usual processes used in the current TVET standards of TESDA. Assessment and

certification may be done in an informal, portfolio or output-based evaluation and assessors do

not need formal technical accreditation process nor be required a standardized trainer’s

methodology training and certification.

Proposed Policy Reforms in the Current TVET Framework

In addition to the adoption of a separate yet parallel TVET Framework for Indigenous

Peoples, the following policy reforms to the existing TVET Framework are recommended:

1. TESDA shall adopt a policy where existing TR and non-TR based TESDA programs

that will be implemented in indigenous communities or for IP members must

integrate IP Language and IP studies as a mandatory elective Common

Competency in the same way as TESDA have done to Entrepreneurship.

2. The TESDA UTPRAS Policy must be amended to give Tribal Leaders and Cultural

Masters presumption of compliance to Trainer Qualifications and Requirements

in training programs for IP’s. A system of giving prior learning equivalency or

exemption in terms of educational qualifications shall be established. Likewise,

incentives and opportunities for accelerated training and non-formal education

shall be afforded to them. For documentary purposes, a TESDA-certified trainer


may be assigned to provide technical support and perform paperwork as

co-trainer.

3. TESDA officials, personnel and staff and accredited assessors and trainers

involved in trainings for IP communities or where IP members are beneficiaries

must be required to undergo cultural sensitivity trainings and native language

courses.

4. TESDA must incentivize the development of NTR programs by TVI’s aimed at

promoting indigenous skills trainings which take into account the key principles

of IP Education. Scholarship grants should be allocated to programs that are

consistent with the TVET Framework for Indigenous Peoples.


References

Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development. (n.d). Retrieved from:

https://alcadev.wordpress.com/our-work/

Anderson, B. (1991). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of

nationalism. London: Verso.

Buendia, R., et al. (n.d). Mapping and Analysis of Indigenous Governance Practices in the

Philippines and Proposal for Establishing an Indicative Framework for Indigenous

People’s Governance: Towards a Broader and Inclusive Process of Governance in the

Philippines.

Calleja, Nina. 2011. “DepEd approves plan for IP-sensitive educational system.” Philippine Daily

Inquirer. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/38323/ deped-approves-plan

-for-ip-sensitive-educational-system.

Canivel, R.S. (2018, July 16). Study notes ‘limited effectiveness’ of Tesda program. Philippine

Daily Inquirer: Retrieved from: http://business.inquirer.net/244167/study-notes-limited-

effectiveness-tesda-program.

Conde, M. (2019, December 25). Caraga school focused on agriculture can help sustain Lumad

communities. Rappler. Retrieved from: https://www.rappler.com/nation/caraga-

school-focused-agriculture-help-sustain-lumad-communities

Congress of the Philippines. 1997. Republic Act No. 10533, “An act enhancing the Philippine

basic education system by strengthening its curriculum and increasing the number of

years for basic education, appropriating funds therefor and for other purposes.” Official

Gazette. Retrieved from:

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2013/09sep/20130904-

IRR-RA-10533-BSA.pdf

Congress of the Philippines. 1997. Republic Act No. 8371, “An Act to Recognize, Protect and

Promote the Rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/ Indigenous Peoples, Creating a

National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Establishing Implementing Mechanisms,

Appropriating Funds herefor, and for Other Purposes.” Official Gazette. Retrieved from

www.gov.ph/1997/10/29/ republic-act-no-8371/.


Department of Education. (2011). Department Order 62 s 2011, “Adoption of the National

Indigenous Peoples Education Policy Framework.” Retrieved from

www.deped.gov.ph/sites/default/iles/order/2011/DO%20No.%2062%2C%20s.%202011.

pdf.

_______________________. (2011) Indigenous Peoples Participation Framework (IPPF) for the

Teacher Effectiveness and Competencies Enhancement Project (TEACEP). Retrieved

from:

https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Att-3_Draft-IPPF-for-Disclosur

e_CLEAN.pdf

________________________. (2011). Department Order 103 s 2011, “Creation of the

Indigenous Peoples Education Office (IPsEO)”. Retrieved from www.deped.gov.

ph/sites/default/files/order/2011/DO_s2011_103.pdf.

________________________. (2014). Historical Perspective of the Philippine Education System.

Retrieved from www.deped.gov.ph/about/history.

________________________. (2014). Department Order 51 s 2014, “Guidelines on the Conduct

of Activities and the Use of Materials Involving Aspects of Indigenous Peoples Culture.”

Retrieved from www.deped.gov.ph/sites/default/files/order/2014/DO_s2014_51.pdf.

________________________. (2015). Department Order 7 s 2015, “Hiring Guidelines for

Teacher I Positions Effective School Year (SY) 2015-2016.” Retrieved from

www.deped.gov.ph/sites/default/iles/order/2015/DO_s2015_07.pdf.

EED-TFIP (EED Philippine Partners Task Force for Indigenous Peoples Rights) study in 2004 (As

cited in: Cariño, J. K. (2010). Country Technical Notes on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues:

Philippines. Draft. International Fund for Agricultural Development. (p. 17)

Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples. 2008. “Indigenous Peoples Education: From

Alienation to Rootedness.” Human Rights Education in Asian Schools, Vol. 8. Retrieved

from

www.hurights.or.jp/archives/pdf/asia-s-ed/v11/13Indigenous%20Peoples%20Education

%20-%20Philippines.pdf.


Fujioka, M. (2004, June). Resistance to development and militarization - Report on the Second

Asian Indigenous Women's Conference . Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center.

https://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section2/2004/06/resistance-to-developmen

t-and-militarization---report-on-the-second-asian-indigenous-womens-conference.html

Gangoso, P.O. (2017). IP-based tech voc Training: The Southeast Asian Institute Experience.

[TESDA Conference presentation]. Southeast Asian Institute.

Gangoso, P.O. (2019). Market Research Study on the Entrepreneurial and Employment

Opportunities of Graduates in Traditional Decorative Textile/ Fabric & Non-Fabric Design

(Weaving Embroidery & Beadwork). Institute for Subanen Studies–Center for Research .


Horfilla, N., et al. (2019). Multi-disciplinary study on intangible cultural heritage’s contribution

to sustainable development focusing on education: A Guide for Facilitators and Local

Coordinators for a School Of Living Traditions on the Buklog Thanksgiving Ritual of the

Subanen. Philippines: The International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage

in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO; NCAA

Labonte, R. (2002). Community, community development, and the forming of authentic

partnerships: some critical reflections. In: Minkler, M., ed. Community Organizing and

Community Building for Health. New Brunswick [New Jersey]: Rutgers Press. Pp. 88-102

May, S. (1999).. Indigenous Community-Based Education. Clevedon [England]: Multilingual

Matters.

Millennium Project. 2006. Millennium Development Goals. Retrieved from www.

unmillenniumproject.org/goals/index.htm.

Miller, C. (2005). Aspects of training that meet Indigenous Australians’ aspirations: A systematic

review of research National Centre for Vocational Education Research: [Australia]

http://ncver.edu.au

Smith, L.T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies research and indigenous peoples. London: Zed.

Syjuco, A. B. (n.d). The Philippine Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) System.

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1Q4xXDxF_EQAm1ctu3eCIdBT-xFul39lS


Talavera, R. (2015). Mind the Skills Gap: the Case of the Philippines; Creative and Cultural Skills

development landscape in the Philippines. NCAA School of Living Traditions.

https://www.britishcouncil.ph/sites/default/files/renee_talavera_ncaa.pdf

Victor, M.L.; Yano, B. (2015). Actualizing the Inclusion of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in

Education: A Policy Initiative in the Philippines. Human Rights Education in Asia-Pacific.

Pp. 133-161.

Villaplaza, L. B. (2021.) Level of implementation of Indigenous Peoples Education Program in

Agusan del Sur, Philippines. Asia-Pacific Contemporary Journal of Contemporary

Education and Communication Technology. Pp. 20-33.

The 1987 Philippine Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. Oicial Gazette. Retrieved

from www.gov.ph/constitutions/

the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines/.

United Nations. 2000. United Nations Millennium Declaration, United Nations General

Assembly, A/RES/55/2, 18 September 2000. Retrieved from

www.unmillenniumproject.org/ documents/ares552e.pdf.

___________________________. (2008). United Nations Declaration on the Rights of

Indigenous Peoples. Retrieved from www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpii/documents/

drips_en.pdf.

The Philippine Qualifications Framework. (n.d.). The Philippine education and training system.

Retrieved from: https://pqf.gov.ph/Home/Details/16

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. (2018). TESDA Circular No. 3 s 2018,

“Omnibus Guidelines for 2018 Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) and

Special Training for Employment Program (STEP).

http://www.tesda.gov.ph/Uploads/File/TWSP%20and%20STEP/

TWSP%202018/TESDA%20omnibus%20twsp-step.pdf


indigenous peoples in the philippines a framework for

Documents