Public warned versus schools without Tesda accreditation
BACOLOD CITY – The Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (Tesda) in Negros Occidental has warned the public to be vigilant against schools that offer practical courses without the necessary accreditation.
Yolanda Porschwitz, Tesda Negros Occidental provincial director, said that parents and students should verify the accreditation of practical courses that they want to take up before enrolling in a particular educational facility.
She issued the statement a week after 14 complainants filed estafa charges against AMA Computer College-Bacolod Inc.
The complainants filed the cases after learning that the school had admitted students to its practical nursing program in 2006 although it has not yet been permitted by Tesda at that time.
AMA only got a Certificate of Registration on May 29 this year, two months after the students-complainants have already graduated.
Porschwitz said they did not issue Special Order, and a Certification, Authentication, and Verification – which are requirements for technical workers applying for jobs overseas – because the accreditation issued to AMA is not retroactive.
Porschwitz said that they have certified a number of schools offering practical nursing in Bacolod and other educational outfits are also processing the renewal of their permits.
Carminia Sobretodo, administrative officer of the Center for Allied Paramedical Studies Inc., one of the schools offering practical nursing in Bacolod, said, they hope the public would realize that there are training facilities that have complied with the TESDA requirements and have been fully-accredited.
Pietro Villarin, lawyer for the complainants who filed the cases against AMA, said that his clients are only demanding that they be reimbursed their expenses for the education of their children
A parent said that they are claiming for the expenses so they could enroll their children again in other schools.
The complainants have refused Tesda's proposal for them to re-enroll the course at AMA this year so they could get an SO in 2009 because employers may later question the discrepancy between the time of their enrollment with the school and the period certified by the hospitals where they completed their on-the-job training.
Jun Enghog, AMA Visayas and Mindanao area director, on the other hand, said that they will just answer the charges in court.