It is a well-known fact that education plays a critical part in every country’s quest for progress. Education is seen as a key factor in achieving human dominance, social stability, and economic prosperity. As a result, all nations, regardless of income, have a chance to get a good education. The importance of education is demonstrated by worldwide programs such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Education for All 2015, Sustainable Development Goals, Decade for Literacy, and others, which demonstrate that education is critical in all aspects of global development.
In the Philippines, Filipinos regard education as a means of escaping poverty. As a result, education is one of the Philippine government sectors that continuously receives the largest budget (Department of Budget and Management, 2020) in order to maintain the government’s commitment to providing equal access to quality education to all of its people. Furthermore, the Philippines has always responded to many educational difficulties such as high rates of school dropouts, out-of-school-youth (OSY), and lack of formal schooling. In this regard, Republic Act No. 9155, also known as the Basic Education Governance Act, was enacted to establish an Alternative Learning System (ALS). ALS is a complementary learning system that offers a feasible alternative to traditional schooling. It includes both official and informal sources of information and skills (RA No. 9155, 2011). The Department of Education (DepEd) oversees the ALS program, which aims to give basic education to Filipinos who are deprived, depressed, or underserved. According to the World Bank Group (2018), the number of ALS students increased to 641,584 in 2017 from 537,666 in 2016, and ALS sessions are held in approximately 4 467 community learning centers across the country. In the Philippines, ALS is a rising alternative distribution system, as evidenced by this case. Despite this, the Philippines’ implementation of ALS was plagued by a slew of problems.
Igarashi (2018) found the following gaps that require reform: (1) poor participation and passing rates, (2) a lack of skills training for future career opportunities, (3) a financial shortfall, and (4) a mix of people displaying various states and motivations. The most recent, and equally baffling, ALS concerns are its alignment with the new K-12 curriculum and the enrolment of its alumni in higher education institutions (HEIs). DepEd issued DepEd Order No. 13, s. 2019 or the Guidelines on the Implementation of the Enhanced Alternative Learning System 2.0 on the 2019 ALS K-12 Curriculum, which establishes the provisions for guaranteeing strategic, efficient, and effective administration of the enhanced ALS 2.0 implementation. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED), on the other hand, issued CMO No. 10, s. 2018 to guide public and private HEIs in enrolling ALS graduates.
ALS graduates pursuing to higher education institutions are always on the right track in making themselves more qualified to any life endeavor’s they would like to venture.
By: Elaine D. Paller |Teacher I|Alternative Learning System (ALS)
