WITH the resumption of face-to-face classes just this week after more than two years of online learning setup, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) is offering a free online course on Covid-19 prevention to schools, students, and parents.
According to Tesda Director General Danilo P. Cruz, public and private schools, colleges, and universities may take this virtual program aimed at curbing the spread of the deadly disease among the faculty and students.
“As we set to open our schools for full face-to-face classes, we are inviting everyone to enroll in our free online courses related to Covid-19 management to help prevent the spread of the virus and adapt to the changes brought by it,” he said.
“This course is available at e-tesda.gov.ph and can be easily accessed by the public anytime and anywhere using their internet-capable smartphones, computers, or laptops,” he added.
On TOP of pandemic control
IT can be recalled that when the pandemic hit the country, the agency developed the online course “Practicing Covid-19 Preventive Measures in the Workplace” which was integrated into its Tesda Online Program (TOP).
This has been among the most popular courses in the TOP. In fact, more than 142,000 people completed the course in 2020, while another 383,826 took it in 2021.
Cruz noted that Tesda has linked free online courses about Covid-19 management with other open sources, such as the “Contact Tracing Course” of the Johns Hopkins University, as well as “Covid-19: How to put on and remove personal protective equipment (PPE)” and “Standard precautions: Hand hygiene” of the World Health Organization (WHO), among others.
TOP enrollees get an electronic certificate of completion when they finish a course. Those who complete programs for full qualification can undergo a competency assessment and receive a national certificate.
Apart from Tesda’s website, the TOP can also be accessed through the agency’s own mobile app, which can be downloaded to smartphones via Google Play or App Store.
It offers 150 courses in different industries, including construction, automotive and land transport, electrical and electronics, among others.
Since its inception in 2012, the TOP now has more than four million registered users nationwide.