Mindanao eyed as technopreneurs hub

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in Mindanao is pushing for technopreneurship in an effort to reinvigorate the Mindanao technical and vocational industry.

TESDA Director-General Joel Villanueva said that a more active approach to developing technopreneurship is one of the major reforms being pursued by the Mindanao Technical Vocational Education and Training Association (MinTVET) and TESDA, especially at the regional level.

He said that reforms are intended to make TVET programs more relevant, efficient, and widely accessible for the youth and skilled workers.

“I dream of the day that I will be standing tall and proud seeing how a fellow Filipino, a Mindanaon at that, getting worldwide recognition for introducing a phenomenal social networking site,” Villanueva said.

Other key reforms being pushed for MinTVET include the review of TVET curriculum and strengthening the TVET workforce through skills-enhancement programs that equip trainors and encourage work efficiency and productivity.

In recent surveys, many techno-savvy Filipinos here and abroad have become successful in their fields and have found their places across different industries with the advantage of information and communication technology (ICT).

As this developed, TESDA encouraged skilled Filipinos to take advantage of their skills in technology to create wealth and not be limited to employment alone.

Villanueva said there is more work to perform to provide technopreneurship the advancement it needs as TESDA is also working on its own improvement aligned with global standards.

Villanueva said he also hopes to make technical education more significant in human resource training.

As this developed, Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chairperson Secretary Luwalhati Antonino urged key Mindanao technovoc industry players to take advantage of their technical knowledge and training in modern technology.

Antonino also strongly pushed for a more active pursuit of resources and wealth-creating activities for the technopreneurs of Mindanao.

The MinDa head also enjoined small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Mindanao to undertake a massive and deliberate effort to develop enterprises as one of the wealth creation initiatives being pushed under the Mindanao 2020 Peace and Development Framework Plan.

In another development, the Department of Education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DepEd-ARMM) is set to team up with Fit for School Incorporated (FIT) to implement a school-based health program designed to improve the hygiene of at least 10,800 children in selected schools in the autonomous region this school year.

FIT is a non-government organization working on improving health condition of children in the country, according to ARMM Education Secretary Bart Caudang.

DepEd-ARMM and FIT officials are set to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on August 18 to formalize commitment for the implementation, institutionalization, and sustainability of the Essential Health Care Program (EHCP) in the ARMM, Caudang said.

EHCP requires and teaches children to undergo daily hand-washing with soap and tooth brushing with fluoride toothpaste, and a bi-annual de-worming, program organizers said.

Around 10,800 school children are targeted to be covered by the program in its introductory stage this school year in some schools in the seven schools’ divisions of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, and Marawi City, Caudang said.

He said the program not only ensures the proper hygiene of children in school but also allow them to develop a health-enhancing habit.

FIT officials said EHCP has been successful in 23 provinces in the country and was shown to be effective in reducing the spread of infectious diseases and rate of tooth decay among children.

The program’s initial stage will be carried out with funding support from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the Deutsche Gessellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

FIT and ARMM officials hope to sustain succeeding years of the program by encouraging local government units to provide funding for it. (With a report from Ali G. Macabalang) –NONOY E. LACSON, Manila Bulletin