ALTERNATIVE LEARNING SYSTEM

I. Introduction
The current change in the Philippine educational system has brought

diverse Filipino learners to a different kind of mindset. The usual pattern in the

acquisition of certification of learning has gradually diverted to a certain focus

or goal. This new trend in the learning behaviour of learners becomes the new

track of both formal and nonformal system of education in providing basic

education among the school populace.

In the birth of K to 12 curriculum, the DepEd-Alternative Learning

System has been adaptable to this sudden change in the educational setup in

the country. Learning competencies were carefully reviewed to appropriately

suit the new learning standards. Learning interventions have been purposely

modified to fit the learning needs of the learners enrolled in every program of

Alternative Learning System. New set of plans has led to a new direction as the

people in the academe visualize inevitable changes in the future.

Part of being adaptive of the various changes in the educational

programs being introduced by the government is the implementers’ ability to

comply and accept changes in the system. The Division of Batangas City

remains at its high momentum to implement different ALS programs and

projects until it reaches a certain extent of its full implementation based on the

target set by the implementers of every program. Being one of the performing

divisions in terms of the program implementation of Alternative Learning

System, the national government has increased allotment of budget for its
Literacy Volunteer Program that is from three (3) literacy volunteers in the

previous years to five (5) literacy volunteer IMs this year. This positive

response from the government had significant effect in the level of

performance and the number of learners being catered to by the ALS

implementers in the division. Seeing the great help it can provide for the adult

learners, the service provider continued to implement its Balik-Paaralan Para sa

Out-of-School Adults (BPOSA) program. In its three years of implementation, a

remarkable contribution of the program to the number of beneficiaries and

passers has been considerably noted. The Accreditation and Equivalency

(A&E), the most popular program among the out-of-school youth and adults

has been sustained and remained in its full implementation since all the ALS

implementers implement this program. The Mobile Teachers’ Basic Literacy

Program is also never left behind in terms of number of completers through the

tutorial instruction utilized by the implementers. Likewise, Radio-based

Instruction (RBI) project of the Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS)

after it has been introduced to the learners became one of the division’s

adapted programs to cater to nonformal and informal learners in the

community. All these programs collectively contributed to the overall

performance of the division relative to literacy service or program among its

clientele.

As the Department of Education remains anchored with its ultimate goal

of providing basic education to all Filipinos, the best techniques, learning
interventions and innovations were conceptualized and applied by the ALS
implementers so that functional literacy would be developed among the
populace being served. With this mind in view, different activities were done
within the specified period by conducting learning interventions which were
clearly and successfully undertaken.