159 OSYs Take Basic Ed Diploma thru Alternative Learning System

          A grade 3 finisher was conferred certificate of elementary education graduate after she topped the Alternative Learning System Accreditation and Equivalency (ALS A & E) test.

          Lisa Ann Alvarado was among the five passers who graduated in elementary education while 154 others graduated in secondary course during the graduation rites held on June 30 at San Juan High School, Mexico, Pampanga.

          The ALS A & E passers are qualified to pursue the next level of education. According to Dr. Leonardo Zapanta, ALS education supervisor 1 of the division of Pampanga, majority of their passers are pursuing tertiary and technical-vocational courses.

          As part of basic literacy program, ALS regularly conducts A & E Learning sessions for out-of-school (OSY) youth and adults who did not finish schooling due to poverty or absence of school in their areas.

          OSYs who are over high school age and those over elementary age can take the A & E test for secondary and elementary education, respectively. OSYs can submit their applications for A & E test through the division office on September 3 to November 23, 2007.

          The graduation of ALS A & E passers was attended by Director Carolina Guererro of BALS; Dr. Felipe Canoza, DepEd regional Office ALS chief; Dr. Amelia Julian, assistant chief; Dr. Nicolas Capulong, assistant schools division superintendent of Pampanga.

          “The vigorous implementation of ALS A & E program is a manifestation of the commitment of the division of Pampanga to Education for All,” Director Guerrero said.

By Dr. Amelia Juan, ALS Region 3

Beef up mobile teachers program - PGMA

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has directed the Department of Education (DepEd) to beef up its program of hiring education graduates as mobile teachers under the Bureau of Alternative Learning Systems (BALS), "so we can reach out to more learners."

She also called on DepEd to strengthen its recognition program for outstanding teachers and educators, particularly for those who serve in the remote localities of the country.

"Our public school teachers are doing an outstanding job in providing education for our children despite the difficulty of accessibility to schools in some areas," the President pointed out. "They are virtually heroes, crossing mountains and rivers just to provide basic education to out-of-school youth and adults who still want to learn."

President Arroyo noted that the budget for alternative learning has been increased three times from P76 million in 2006 to P230 million in 2007. This has enabled BALS to hire 300 more mobile teachers.

"We need more teachers like Dr. Edwin Ferrer," the President said.

The DepEd recently commended Dr. Ferrer – a mobile teacher under the BALS of the department – for having been chosen as 2007 National Awardee in the Search for Outstanding Volunteers.

"Our mobile teachers' contribution to alternative education is, indeed, invaluable," DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus said. "They serve as bridges for the department to reach out to all kinds of learners."

By hiring education graduates to become mobile teachers, BALS seeks to make education accessible to out-of-school youth and adults, especially those who live in remote areas.

Unlike regular education where students go to school, mobile teachers seek out the learners. Learning sessions, with the aid of learning materials that are user-friendly and indigenous, are held in Community Learning Centers (CLCs) which may be a barangay hall, church, factory, reading center, or a house.

Dr. Ferrer was chosen among 38 entries from both public and private organizations. He has been teaching for eight years as a volunteer, and has been covering 86 barangays in Pangasinan.

DepEd-BALS' Mobile Teacher Program seeks to improve the quality of life in communities by raising the level of literacy in target areas. Target areas for this program are those with high illiteracy rate, a huge population of out-of-school youth, and Strong Republic Schools (SRS) where learners are displaced due to insurgency.

There are 1,381 mobile teachers to date. These mobile teachers are deployed to deprived, depressed, and underserved (DDU) communities all over the country where literacy is most wanting. DDU communities are determined by the mobile teachers themselves who go from house to house to determine the number of non-readers in each household.

The Search for Outstanding Volunteers was launched by the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency (PNVSCA) and the National Volunteer Month-Steering Committee (NVM-SC). The Search Committee comprises officials from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Presidential Proclamation No. 55 mandates the celebration of National Volunteer Month in December of every year. To supplement this initiative, President Arroyo also ratified Republic Act 9418 on April 10, 2007 – also known as the "Volunteer Act of 2007" – which institutionalized volunteerism as one of the strategies for national development.

http://www.viewfromthepalace.net/statements_archives/statements_dec1907.php

2008 Accreditation and Equivalency Tests Set

          The 2008 Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) tests for elementary and secondary levels will be administered by the Alternative Learning System (ALS) to 188 divisions in four waves next year.

          The first wave will be for the Mindanao regions on February 3; second wave will be for the Visayas and Bicol regions on February 10; third wave will be  for regions 1,2,3 and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) on February 17; and fourth wave will be for regions 4-A, 4-B and the National Capital Region  on February 24.

          “The A&E test certificate is comparable to the elementary certificate and high school diploma whereby an elementary student who passes the exam can apply for entrance to high school. On the other hand, a high school student who passes the exam can apply for entrance to college,” BALS Director Carolina Guerrero said.

          Qualified to register in the elementary level are elementary dropouts who are not enrolled in June of the current school year, 11 years old and above, and those who were born before  December 1997. Qualified for the secondary level are high school dropouts who are not enrolled in June of the current school year, 15 years old and above, and those who were born before December 1993.

          Non-passers in  previous ALS A&E tests, and learners and completers of the ALS programs are also qualified to register.

          Registration period is from September 3, 2007 to November 23, 2007. Applicants should submit two copies of their latest 1”x1” photo. Also required is  one of the following documents in original copy to the Test Registration Officer (TRO): birth certificate, baptismal certificate, marriage certificate and driver’s license.

          The free registration forms may be taken from the TRO, the mobile teacher or instructional manager. Registration shall be done in the designated registration and testing center  to be identified by the school superintendent.

          Meanwhile, there will be a synchronized regional orientation on the A&E test registration and administration at the regional offices nationwide on August 22. Participants will be ALS region and division officials and staff, division supervisors and district coordinators who will serve as TRO.

          A division orientation at the RTC or at the division office on the test registration and administration will be conducted in the Mindanao regions on February 1, 2008; Visayas and Bicol regions on February 8, 2008; Regions 1, 2, 3 and CAR on  February 15, 2008; and regions 4-A, 4-B and NCR on February 22, 2008.

          Participants to the activity are the division superintendent or assistant superintendent, ALS division and district supervisor, principal or head of school, ALS district coordinators, teachers as examiners and mobile teachers  as roving proctors.

          Staff from the BALS & other DepEd Central Offices will be deployed to all the testing centers as lead examiners on the dates of the test throughout the four waves of the testing season.