Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 5145

Introduced by Rep. LAWRENCE LEMUEL H. FORTUN

EXPLANATORY NOTE
ARTICLE XIV of the 1987 Constitution provides:

SECTION 1. The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality
education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all

SECTION 2. The State shall:
Xxx
(4) Encourage non-formal, informal, and indigenous learning systems, as well as self-learning,
independent, and out-of-school study programs particularly those that respond to community
needs; and
(5) Provide adult citizens, the disabled, and out-of-school youth with training in civics, vocational
efficiency, and other skills.

Xxx

Republic Act No. 9155, otherwise known as the Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001,
established the Alternative Learning System (ALS) to provide out-of-school children, youth and adults
basic education. The ALS is a parallel learning program that provides an alternative option to formal
instruction. This is a viable option other than the formal mode of instruction especially to a great number
of the population that does not have access to formal basic education by reasons of poverty and lack of
access to schools.

This bill seeks to institutionalize the Alternative Learning Systems as a component of the basic
education system in the country. It aims to provide a systematic and efficient manner of providing
alternative learning opportunities for indigent adults, out-of-school youth, indigenous peoples, persons
with disabilities and special needs and senior citizens. The measure gives the Department of Education
(DepEd) the mandate to exercise general supervision and administration over the ALS programs. This bill
likewise seeks to establish one (1) ALS Community Learning Center in every municipality and city. The
ALS program will also prohibit the imposition of fees as requisite for admission.

Consistent with the policy of the State to provide its people access to quality education, the
institutionalization of the Alternative Learning System has become an urgent imperative.

A similar bill was filed in the 17" Congress and was passed on Third and Final Readihg. It is



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

5145

House Bill No.

Introduced by Rep. LAWRENCE LEMUEL H. FORTUN

AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE ALTERNATIVE LEARNING SYSTEM IN THE BASIC
EDUCATION FOR OUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDREN, YOUTH AND ADULTS, PERSONS
WITH DISABILITIES, INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, AND OTHER MARGINALIZED
SECTORS OF SOCIETY, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Alternative Learning System
Act.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. ~ It is hereby declared the policy of the State to promote
the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make
such education accessible to all. The State shall likewise give the highest priority to the
enactment of measures that promote human development and the acceleration of social progress,
thereby reducing social, economic and political inequalities.

Towards this end, the State shall provide the out-of-school children, youth and adults,
persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and other marginalized sectors of society with
opportunities to improve their knowledge, technical and vocational efficiency, and other skills
through a system of informal, nonformal, and indigenous education which are tailored to meet
their limited schedule and their incapacity to attend to formal classroom learning experience due
to time, physical, emotional, economic, and other constraints.

SEC. 3. Objectives. — This Act aims to achieve the following objectives:

a. Provide adequate attention to the learning needs of the out-of-school children, youth
and adults, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and other marginalized sectors of
society;

b. Guarantee equal opportunity for learners in every barangay, including residents of
unreached, underserved and conflict-affected communities, to avail of systematic and flexible
alternative basic education program outside of the formal school system;

c. Promote lifelong learning in all streams of education to ensure the leamers’
sustainable future; and

d. Institute a mobile teacher program especially in far-flung, unserved, underserved, and
conflict-affected communities.

SEC. 4. The Alternative Learning System. — The Alternative Learning System,
hereinafter referred to as “ALS”, is hereby established as a parallel learning system that provides


an alternative learning arrangement to learners, who, for acceptable reasons to be determined by
the Department of Education (DepEd), cannot be admitted to the existing formal basic education.
It includes both the nonformal and informal sources of knowledge and skills.

The ALS shall cover out-of-school children, youth and adults, persons with disabilities,
indigenous peoples, and other marginalized sectors of society, who either have none or limited
access to formal schools, and who are usually located in far-flung communities, including those
in areas with armed conflict.

SEC. 5. Implementation, ~ The Secretary of Education, through the appropriate DepEd
office, shall exercise general supervision and administration over the ALS programs. It shall:

a. Establish an appropriate governance mechanism to ensure the efficient and effective
coordination and management of the ALS covering policy, curriculum, learning program
delivery, learning materials, learner assessment and certification, quality assurance and support
systems;

b. Provide the appropriate ALS curriculum assimilating culture and gender-sensitive
formulations that meet the minimum requirements of basic education, training of teachers and
coordinators, and the mechanism to implement the program in every city and municipality
throughout the country;

c. Coordinate with local government units (LGUs), nongovernment organizations
(NGOs), and other government agencies on matters pertaining to community mapping activities
and come up with a centralized database for out-of-school children, youth and adults, persons
with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and other marginalized sectors of society who have not yet
completed their basic education;

d. Address the learning needs of the marginalized groups of the population including the
deprived, depressed, unserved, and underserved citizens through nonformal and informal
education programs;

e. Ensure access to educational opportunities for learners of different interests,
capabilities, demographic characteristics and socio-economic origins and status;

f. Promote certification and accreditation through alternative learning programs, both
nonformal and informal in nature, for basic education;

g. Coordinate with various agencies for skills development to ensure the learners”
employability, efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness in the labor market; and

h. Establish minimum quality standards for ALS program implementation and
management including certification of learning outcomes, accreditation of service providers,
competency standards for ALS personnel, and requirements for ALS learning environments,
among others, to help promote quality assurance of the ALS.

SEC. 6. The ALS Programs. — The DepEd shall strengthen the implementation of Non-
Formal Education (NFE) and Informal Education (InfEd) Programs.

a. The NFE program shall be modular and flexible in nature, which means learning can
take place anytime and in any place depending on the convenience and availability of the ALS
learners. This program is subdivided into a:

1. Basic Literacy Program (BLP), for illiterates; and
2. Continuing Education Program, called Accreditation and Equivalency (CE: A&E)
Program, for elementary education dropouts.

b. The InfEd program includes skills and livelihood training, entrepreneurship, personal
interest, and community development sessions.

To deliver the ALS programs, the DepEd may utilize the following learning resources:


1. Learning modules which contain leaning activities, and pre- and post-assessments;
and

2. Supplementary materials like text and non-text based modules, self-learning
instructional materials, learning activity packages, online or digital modules, textbooks, e-
modules, or blended technology learning materials from various sources.

SEC. 7. Duration of ALS Programs. ~ The DepEd shall prescribe an appropriate
minimum number of session hours or days required for the completion of ALS programs to
ensure that the learners enrolled therein are provided with adequate and quality schooling and
training at par with the formal educational system.

SEC. 8. Accreditation and Equivalency Examinations for ALS Learners. ~The ALS
Accreditation and Equivalency (ALS A&E) Test shall be a paper and pencil test designed and
administered by the DepEd to measure the competencies of those who have neither attended nor
finished elementary or secondary education in the formal school system.

Passers of the ALS A&E Test are given a certificate or diploma bearing the DepEd seal,
and the signature of the Secretary of Education, certifying their competencies as comparable
graduates of the formal school system. Passers are qualified to enroll in junior high school or
senior high school education, as appropriate.

SEC. 9, Admission to Senior High School. ~ Learners, who successfully complete the
required ALS program and pass the appropriate ALS A&E Test for junior high school level may
be admitted to senior high school to pursue courses of their own choice: Provided, That they
comply with the other basic documentary requirements set by the school as requisite for
enrollment.

The DepEd shall develop supplemental learning programs for passers of the ALS A&E
Test to help the learners cope with and be acquainted with the kind of academic, technical, or
vocational subjects being offered in senior high school education.

SEC. 10. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). ~The
TESDA, in coordination with DepEd, shall assist ALS A&E Test papers equivalent to Grade 10
in taking up technical vocational education and training (TVET) programs. This shall serve as an
option to enrolling in senior high school.

The DepEd shall also encourage ALS graduates in possession of skills to undergo
competency assessment and certification being administered by TESDA.

SEC. 11. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). ~ The DOLE, in
partnership with DepEd, shall promote gainful employment opportunities to ALS passers, who
will eventually graduate from senior high school education, through coordination with
prospective employers for job placement in the industry sector.

SEC. 12. Hiring and Training of ALS Learning Facilitators. - The DepEd shall hire
ALS Mobile Teachers, Literacy Volunteers, and Instructional Managers, who shall serve as ALS
Learning Facilitators, in order to augment the manpower resources needed in the implementation
of the ALS programs throughout the country.

The ALS Learning Facilitators shall undergo the necessary training regularly throughout
the calendar year to upgrade their teaching skills to the standards expected for the ALS
curriculum.

SEC. 13. Establishment of ALS Community Learning Centers. — There shall be
established at least one (1) ALS Community Learning Center (CLC) in every municipality and


city throughout the country. As much as possible, the ALS CLC shall be situated at the place
within the municipality or city that is conducive for learning and accessible to the public.

Each ALS CLC shall be constructed in accordance with the specifications, criteria, and
other details provided and approved by the DepEd, in consultation with the municipal or city
mayor or a duly authorized LGU representative, to ensure the orderly implementation of the
project.

SEC. 14. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).~ The DILG
shall help enlist the support of LGUs as DepEd partners in the operation of the ALS. It shall
coordinate with DepEd on matters requiring LGU participation and shall issue and disseminate
to the LGUs concerned ALS-related memoranda or advisories, as necessary.

SEC. 15. Participation of LGUs. ~ The Secretary of Education shall initiate partnerships
with the Chief Executives of LGUs to encourage them to contribute available resources to the
ALS programs within the LGUs’ respective areas of jurisdiction.

SEC. 16. Local ALS Committee. — The Local School Board may create a local ALS
committee and provide for its composition, as necessary. The local ALS committee shall perform
the following functions:

a. Oversee the ALS implementation at the city or municipal level, including the
identification of priority ALS programs, establishment of ALS CLC, provision of technical
assistance to ALS Learning Facilitators, program monitoring and evaluation, and coordination
with government and nongovernment partners for post-program support activities;

b. Recommend to the local school board, in accordance with the criteria set by the
DepEd, the determination of the annual supplementary budgetary needs for the operation and
maintenance of ALS within the city or municipality, and the supplementary local cost of
meeting such needs, which shall be reflected in the form of an annual ALS budget
corresponding to its share of the proceeds of the special levy on real property constituting the
Special Education Fund and such other sources of revenue as this Act and other laws or
ordinances may provide;

c. Ensure the implementation of community literacy mapping activities within the city
or municipality and coordinate with the barangays, non-government organizations and other
agencies in the identification of out-of-school children, youth and adults, persons with
disabilities, indigenous peoples, and other marginalized sectors of society who have not yet
completed their basic education;

d. Coordinate with the DepEd in regard to the establishment, operation and maintenance
of ALS CLC; and

e. Serve as an advisory committee to the Sangguniang Panlungsod or Sangguniang
Bayan concerned on the ALS implementation in the city or municipality.

SEC. 17. Special Education Fund Allocation. — Notwithstanding the provision of
Section 272 of Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the “Local Government Code of
1991”, the local school boards shall set aside a portion of the proceeds of the Special Education
Fund for the utilization of ALS programs within the LGUs’ respective areas of jurisdiction.

SEC. 18. Private Sector Participation. ~ The Secretary of Education shall encourage
and promote close partnerships with the private sector whose support in the form of cooperative
or collaborative arrangements may be hamessed to ensure the sustainable implementation of
ALS programs.

SEC. 19. Unlawful Fees. — It shall be unlawful for any DepEd-administered ALS CLC,
its officers, or Learning Facilitators to solicit or require the payment of admission, enrollment
and other kinds of fees from any interested learner as requisite for admission.


SEC. 20. Appropriations. — The amount necessary for the implementation of this Act
shall be charged against the current year’s appropriations for Flexible Learning Options of the
DepEd. Thereafter, such amount as may be necessary for the continuous implementation of this
Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 21. Implementing Rules and Regulations. ~ Within ninety (90) days from the
approval of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the DILG, TESDA, DOLE,
the Coordinating Council for Private Educational Associations, NGO, and other concerned
government agencies, shall formulate the rules and regulations implementing the provisions of
this Act. The implementing rules and regulations issued pursuant to this section shall take effect
thirty (30) days after its publication in a national newspaper of general circulation.

SEC. 22. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the other provisions not so declared shall remain in force and effect.

SEC. 23. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders and rules and regulations
contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or amended
accordingly.

SEC. 24, Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,