DepEd to strengthen ALS program for out-of-school-youth, adults
Published Jun 1, 2019 03:52 pm
By Merlina Herando-Malipot
As it welcomes a new school year, the Department of Education (DepEd) assured that it will continue to strengthen its parallel learning system for those who do not have access to formal education.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones (SCREENSHOT / RTVM / MANILA BULLETIN)
Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that the Department is intent to address the remaining gaps in terms of access to education. As such, it shall continue to expand and intensify its Alternative Learning System (ALS) — a second chance education program for out-of-school youth and adults.
The ALS is a parallel learning system in the Philippines that provides a practical option to the existing formal instruction. When one does not have or cannot access formal education in schools, the ALS is offered as an alternate or substitute.
In Calendar Year (CY) 2018, DepEd saw the biggest enrollment in ALS at 823, 013 – a 28. 28 % increase compared to the ALS enrollment in 2017 at 641, 584.
Second chances
In Cebu City, around 10,600 inmates of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Region VII are set to enlist in ALS of the DepEd.
Recently, the BJMP Region VII officially turned over the lists of eligible inmates to 19 Schools Division Offices (SDOs) of DepEd Region VII, and signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) formalizing the PDLs’ enrollment to basic education through ALS’ Basic Literacy Program (BLP) and Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Program, during the Turn-Over Ceremony of the BJMP Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) for Enrollment of ALS Program and MOA Signing in Cebu City.
On behalf of DepEd, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs System (PAS) and ALS Program and Task Force G.H. Ambat accepted the master list on behalf of the department and lauded the massive effort to ensure that when classes open, “it is not just for learners in regular schools but for learners with alternative learning circumstances.”
Ambat said that the Oplan Balik Eskwela (OBE), an initiative of DepEd to ensure smooth opening of classes, is also applicable to the PDLs. “We can tell our stakeholders that we are not only for formal school but also for the informal as well as for BJMP,” she said. “This is us working together for nation-building,” she added.
DepEd ALS Task Force head director Marilette Almayda shared Ambat’s enthusiasm toward the region’s feat and noted that the event is another milestone for ALS. “This is a realization that partnership and networking really work,” she said. “This will be part of the milestones that we will speak of when it comes to ALS,” she added.
Following the turn-over ceremony, Ambat and Almayda joined BJMP Region VII Director J/CSupt. Paulino Moreno Jr. and J/SInp. Medardo Dungog in visiting the facilities and checking the learning resources that will be used by inmates in the male and female wards of the Cebu City Detention and Rehabilitation Center.
Meanwhile, Almayda expressed gratitude to DepEd for taking the “time to take a look at our PDLs because they, too, deserve the quality basic education that we accord every learner.”
Education Secretary Leonor Briones (SCREENSHOT / RTVM / MANILA BULLETIN)
Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that the Department is intent to address the remaining gaps in terms of access to education. As such, it shall continue to expand and intensify its Alternative Learning System (ALS) — a second chance education program for out-of-school youth and adults.
The ALS is a parallel learning system in the Philippines that provides a practical option to the existing formal instruction. When one does not have or cannot access formal education in schools, the ALS is offered as an alternate or substitute.
In Calendar Year (CY) 2018, DepEd saw the biggest enrollment in ALS at 823, 013 – a 28. 28 % increase compared to the ALS enrollment in 2017 at 641, 584.
Second chances
In Cebu City, around 10,600 inmates of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Region VII are set to enlist in ALS of the DepEd.
Recently, the BJMP Region VII officially turned over the lists of eligible inmates to 19 Schools Division Offices (SDOs) of DepEd Region VII, and signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) formalizing the PDLs’ enrollment to basic education through ALS’ Basic Literacy Program (BLP) and Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Program, during the Turn-Over Ceremony of the BJMP Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) for Enrollment of ALS Program and MOA Signing in Cebu City.
On behalf of DepEd, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs System (PAS) and ALS Program and Task Force G.H. Ambat accepted the master list on behalf of the department and lauded the massive effort to ensure that when classes open, “it is not just for learners in regular schools but for learners with alternative learning circumstances.”
Ambat said that the Oplan Balik Eskwela (OBE), an initiative of DepEd to ensure smooth opening of classes, is also applicable to the PDLs. “We can tell our stakeholders that we are not only for formal school but also for the informal as well as for BJMP,” she said. “This is us working together for nation-building,” she added.
DepEd ALS Task Force head director Marilette Almayda shared Ambat’s enthusiasm toward the region’s feat and noted that the event is another milestone for ALS. “This is a realization that partnership and networking really work,” she said. “This will be part of the milestones that we will speak of when it comes to ALS,” she added.
Following the turn-over ceremony, Ambat and Almayda joined BJMP Region VII Director J/CSupt. Paulino Moreno Jr. and J/SInp. Medardo Dungog in visiting the facilities and checking the learning resources that will be used by inmates in the male and female wards of the Cebu City Detention and Rehabilitation Center.
Meanwhile, Almayda expressed gratitude to DepEd for taking the “time to take a look at our PDLs because they, too, deserve the quality basic education that we accord every learner.”