In another milestone for quality assurance in TVET, 12 institutions were conferred awards for their excellence in passing the APACC accreditation exercise during the SDPAEE Conference Dinner and APACC Awards Night held on June 22, 2015 at the Marco Polo Hotel Ortigas, Manila, Philippines.
The APACC Awards Night commenced in a jovial mood as the CPSC Director General, Dr. Mohammad Naim Yaakub, conveyed his deep appreciation towards the fulfillment of APACC's advocacy to serve and uphold quality assurance among TVET institutions in the region. Likewise, H.E. Lalduthhana Ralte, the Ambassador of India to the Philippines, expressed his sincere appreciation for the efforts of CPSC and their continued commitment in carrying India's aspiration in leading human resources development in the region. Representing the TESDA Director General, Secretary Emmanuel Joel Villanueva, Deputy Director General for Policies and Planning, Director Irene Isaac conveyed the wishes of the TESDA Director General for the success of the event.
The highlight of the night was the confirmation of the Gold-level accreditation status of the four Malaysian polytechnics visited by APACC from March to April, 2015. These institutions are part of the second batch of Malaysian polytechnics that have undergone and received Gold-level accreditation as well.
Gold-level institutions include Polytechnics in Malaysia namely, Politeknik Kota Bharu (PKB), Politeknik Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah (POLISAS), Politeknik Seberang Perai (PSP), and Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah (PSAS). The CPSC Governing Board Chairman and the Deputy Director General for TESD operations, Atty. Teodoro Pascua presented the APACC plaques to PKB Director Tn. Hj. Noor Azahan bin Othman, POLISAS Director, Pn. Norlida bt. Abd Razak, Tn. Hj. Zulkifli bin Ariffin for PSP and to En. Abdul Karim bin Jaafar for PSAS.
The Directors of the 4 newly Gold-level-accredited APACC institutions receive their respective APACC Gold plaques: (Photos, L to R) Tn. Hj. Noor Azahan bin Othman, Director of PKB; Pn. Norlida Bt. Abd Razak, Director of POLISAS, and En. Abdul Karim bin Jaafar, Director of PSAS, while Tn. Hj. Zulkifli bin Ariffin, Director of PSP expresses his acceptance of the award.
(Photos, L-R) APACC Silver Award Recipients: Ms. Maria Clara Ignacio, Head, TESDA Women’s Center; Mr. Igmedio O. Valdez, Jr. , Vocational School Administrator, KORPHIL Davao, Mr. Gombo Bayarbat, Head, School of Nursing Mongolia, Dr. Clarissa Posadas, Vocational School Administrator, (PPSAT) and Ms. Ruth Pundang, Vocational School Administrator, LSF.
The event also conferred plaques of recognition to the following APACC Silver-level accredited institutions, in the Philippines namely, TESDA Women's Center (TWC), Taguig City, Regional Training Center-Korea Philippines Vocational Training Center, Davao City (KORPHIL-Davao), Puerto Princesa School of Arts and Trades (PPSAT), Palawan and Lupon School of Fisheries (LSF), Davao Oriental. The awards were received by the Center Head of TWC, Ms. Maria Clara Ignacio, by the KORPHIL-Davao Vocational School Administrator, Mr. Igmedio O. Valdez, Jr., by Dr. Clarissa Posadas, Vocational School Administrator of PPSAT and by the Vocational School Administrator of LSF, Ms. Ruth Pundang.
Another Silver-level awardee was the School of Nursing in Mongolia whereby its head Mr. Gombo Bayarbat received the award.
On the other hand, bronze-level accredited institutions such as the Dumalag Vocational Technical School (DVTS), and Dipolog School of Fisheries (DSF) also received their awards through their Vocational School Administrators, Ms. Grace Haudar and Mrs. Rosella Darcera.
These institutions from Malaysia, Mongolia and the Philippines went through a challenging task of submitting their operations and systems apart from important documents to the APACC body through a Self-Study Report which took months of preparations and required rigorous compilation. On-Site Visits followed thereafter, they were visited by the APACC accreditation team to validate the claims they made in their self-study report, as well as to assess the effectiveness of the program offerings and administrative operations.
Three tiers of accreditation levels were conferred to the institutions based on the findings of the APACC accreditation team: Gold (with 451 to perfect score of 500 valid for 4 years), Silver (with 401-450 points valid for 3 years) and Bronze (with 301-400 points valid for 2 years).
Left: Representatives from OVEC, Thailand led by Dr. Pongsatorn Pimpanit
(Head, Bureau of Quality Assurance) and accompanied by Mr. Rangsan Thepmondri
(NCA of Thailand) and Dr. Paiboon Saiyawongs (APACC consultant in Thailand and a
former CPSC specialist), receive the certificate of recognition from Dr. Naim.
Right: Dr. Dhinamani Brahadeeswaran, National Coordinator of Accreditation for India,
receives similar award from Dr. NaimThe APACC awards night also recognized the new subscribing countries that adopted APACC standards in subjecting their institutions to accreditation. Thailand, represented by the Office of the Vocational Education (OVEC) receives the Certificate of Recognition through Dr. Pongsatorn Pimpanit, Head of Bureau of Quality Assurance of OVEC, while India was represented by the head of the Nachimuthu Polytechic College, Dr. Dhinamani Brahadeeswaran.
A tribute to the APACC National Coordinators for Accreditation (NCA) and APACC Accreditors was held to recognize their technical expertise in ensuring a smooth flow of the APACC process. They were also recognized for their patience, attention to detail and advocacy in helping the beneficiary institutions achieve their goals as far as quality operations are concerned. The NCA awardees include the following: Pn. Noor Aidi Binti Nadzri, (NCA for Malaysia), Mr. Elpidio Mamaril (NCA for the Philippines), Tsagaach Batbayar (NCA for Mongolia) and Mr. Rangsan Thepmondhri (NCA for Thailand).
The acknowledged accreditors, on the other hand, were the following: Dr. Suresh Kumar Dhameja and Dr. G. Kulanthaivel (APACC accreditors from India); Dr. Romulita Alto, Dr. Renato Sorolla, Dr. Godelyn Hisole and Dr. Theresita Atienza (APACC Accreditors from the Philippines); Dr. Paiboon Saiyawongs and Dr. Pongsatorn Pimpanit (APACC Accreditors from Thailand) and Pn. Noaryanti bt. Mohd Noor (APACC Accreditor from Malaysia). In addition, Dr. Alto and Dr. Atienza imparted their experiences during the onsite visit activities and shared with the audience their observations and findings that resulted in the conferment of APACC Gold accreditation status to the respective institutions.
The APACC awards night concluded in a good note as the institutions celebrated their success in receiving APACC accreditation awards. It is hoped that the event and the networks it has established in different APACC-accredited institutions shall signal a start of widely disseminated APACC benefits which makes it a vital requirement for quality TVET delivery among institutions around the world.
A performance from Department of Tourism's dance troupe "Indak Turismo", led by their choreographer Mr. Ernesto S. Cariaga, showcased some of the Filipino cultural and traditional dances that emphasize the rich and diverse culture of the host country. In addition, a sample of an onsite visit video from the Politeknik Kota Bharu (PKB) was showcased to give the participants a glimpse of what transpires during an onsite visit exercise.
