REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CITY OF BALIWAG
CONCEPCION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
CITY OF BALIWAG, BULACAN
Alternative Learning System
The Department of Education implements non-formal education programs through the ALS. Non-formal education is defined by UNESCO as “education that is institutionalized, intentional and planned by an education provider. The defining characteristic of non-formal education is that it is an addition, alternative and/or a complement to formal education within the process of the lifelong learning of individuals. It is often provided to guarantee the right of access to education for all. Non-formal education can cover programs contributing to adult and youth literacy and education for out-of-school children, as well as programs on life skills, work skills, and social or cultural development.”
The non-formal education programs in ALS are Basic Literacy Program (BLP) and Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Program.
The ALS Program also provides opportunity for learning through Informal Education (InFed). Informal Education, defined as a “lifelong learning process acquired outside the formal school system but complements learning acquired in both non-formal and formal basic education,” creates opportunities for self-development, community development, entrepreneurship, and skills development in response to the individual’s learning interest.
Basic Literacy Program
The Basic Literacy Program (BLP) is a program component of ALS aimed at eradicating illiteracy among OSYA, and in extreme cases, school-aged children, by developing the basic literacy skills of reading, writing, and numeracy.
Accreditation and Equivalency Program
The Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Program is a program component of ALS aimed at providing an alternative pathway of learning for OSYA who have the basic literacy skills but have not completed the K to 12 basic education mandated by the Philippine Constitution. Through this program, school dropouts are able to complete elementary and high school education outside the formal school system.
Life Skills for Work Readiness and Civic Engagement Program
Consistent with the goal to intensify its second chance education program and make it more responsive to the needs of the learners, DepEd integrated the Life Skills for Work Readiness and Civic Engagement Program developed under the Mindanao Youth Development project of USAID.
The Life Skills for Work Readiness and Civic Engagement Program aimed to address the mismatch between skills taught in school and skills demanded in the workplace that have left young people unable to find jobs, start their own businesses, or otherwise contribute to their communities.
Building up on its partnership with MYDev and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Education is mainstreaming the use of Life Skills for Work Readiness and Civic Engagement in the Alternative Learning System to develop skills and competencies needed for economic success, such as communications, leadership, workplace safety, and financial literacy skills among its ALS learners.
In MYDev, Life Skills include two sets of skills:
a. Work Readiness Skills – work-related skills needed by young people to be successful at work in the formal, non-formal, and informal sectors
b. Civic Engagement Skills – values and skills for living in and helping to improve quality of life in our community and overall society
In 2019, the Life Skills Program was rolled out in the BLP and A&E classes of DepEd delivered ALS programs all over the country.
Become an ALS learner
Become an ALS learner
The ALS Program is open to potential learners at any time of the year. Interested OSYA learners may visit or contact their nearest DepEd District and/or Division Office for information about the ALS learning sessions being offered in the area.
A potential learner undergoes the revised Functional Literacy Test (FLT) and the existing Assessment for Basic Literacy (ABL) to determine whatever prior learning s/he may already have. The result of this assessment will help the ALS Learning Facilitator and the learner to develop an Individual Learning Agreement (ILA) that records what the learner wants to learn (learning goals), and how (learning activities and strategies) and when (timeline) the learner wants to achieve his/her learning goals.
The new FLT is composed of two parts: Personal Information Sheet (PIS) and a written test based on the six learning strands of new ALS K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum. The FLT also contains the Listening/Speaking portion of Learning Strand 1 (Communication Skills), which is administered per individual.
Learning Process
ALS learners are considered active agents of their own learning. As such, they are expected to:
define their own learning needs;
identify the most appropriate pathway for addressing these needs; and
achieve their learning goals through learning modules, supplementary learning materials, and available instructional support.
These must be reflected through an Individual Learning Agreement (ILA). The ILA will serve as one of the bases for instruction and assessment learners’ progress.
ALS learners interested in seeking certification through the Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Test will need to master the competencies detailed in the ALS K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum.
Since ALS targets OSYA learners with various levels of literacy, the instructional support to be provided by the ALS teacher may be face-to-face, or through distance education and blended learning, depending on the needs of the learners.
Throughout the program, learners will be assessed using various formative assessment tools used by the ALS teacher and assessment instruments found in the learning modules. Learners are also asked to update learning logs and develop their portfolio based on their ILA.
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