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Republic of the Philippines tele

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2 Br:
Quezon City o oy
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS y
First Regular Session
5309

HOUSE BILL No. >?

Introduced by HON. JOSEPH “JOJO” L. LARA

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Constitution states in Article XIV, Section 2., that the State shall: (1) Establish,
maintain, and support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant
to the needs of the people and society; and (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. To guarantee these
Opportunities equally for the out-of-school children, youth and adults, persons with
disabilities, indigenous peoples, and other marginalized sectors of society, the Department
of Education (DEPED) provided a program called Alternative Learning System in 2004.

The Alternative Learning System initially aims to build human capital from out of school
youth and adults. ALS learners will be able to acquire a credential that enable them to
access to higher education, vocational training, and better career opportunity in general.

According to the Publication of the World Bank in 2018, the learners enrolled in the
Alternative Learning System have been increased by 8.81%, from 537,666 in 2016 to
641,584 in 2017. This study proves that the ALS is Progressively reaching its objective
which is helping learners to acquire technical skills that they can apply to earn for a living.

However, the DEPED is facing complex challenges in implementing the ALS both in
financial and operational. As an advocate for basic education, this representation believes
that it is timely that a law must be passed to strengthen its ‘system through increasing the
national budget allocated for ALS. This program also needs an expansion in order to
reach more deserving learners from far-flung provinces of our country.

This bill was previously filed in the 17" Congress and its immediate Passage in the is”
Congress is earnestly sought.

a



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. esos

Introduced by HON. JOSEPH “JOJO” L. LARA

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.”

SECTION 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.

SECTION 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;

(©) Promote lifelong learning in all streams of education to ensure the learners’
sustainable future; and

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

SECTION 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.

SECTION 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;

©

Coordinate with local government units (LGUs), non-government
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;

1

Ensure access to educational opportunities for learners of different interests,
capabilities, demographic characteristics and socioeconomic 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.

SECTION 6. The ALS Programs. - The DepEd shall strengthen the
implementation of Non-Formal Education (NFE) and Informal Education (Inffd)
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 learning activities, and pre- and post-
assessments; and

(2) Supplementary materials like text and non-text based modules, self-
learning instructional materials, learning activity 18 packages, online or
digital modules, textbooks, e-modules, or 19 blended technology
learning materials from various sources.

SECTION 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.

SECTION 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.

SECTION 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.

SECTION 10. The Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority (TESDA). - The TESDA, in coordination with the DepEd, shall assist ALS
A&E Test passers 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.

SECTION 11. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).—The
DOLE, in partnership with the 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.

SECTION 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.

SECTION 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.

SECTION 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 the DepEd on matters requiring LGU
Participation and shall issue and disseminate to the LGUs concerned ALS-related 6
memoranda or advisories, as necessary.

SECTION 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 10 Programs within the LGUs' respective
areas of jurisdiction.

SECTION 16. Loca/ 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;

(©) Ensure the implementation of community literacy mapping activities within
the city or municipality and coordinate with the barangays, nongovernment
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.


SECTION 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.

SECTION 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 harnessed to ensure
the sustainable implementation of ALS programs.

SECTION 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.

SECTION 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.

SECTION 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.

SECTION 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.

SECTION 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.

SECTION 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,