ALS IN THE PHILIPPINES AS COMPARED TO OTHER ASIAN COUNTRIES: A REACTION PAPER[1]
Adeline C. Mendoza[2]
The government’s vision for nonformal education is revitalized and epitomized through an Executive Order No. 358 S. 2004, renaming and reinventing of the Bureau of Nonformal Education to Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS) whose vision is to view the Philippines as a nation where all the citizens, especially the marginalized individual or group of learners who could not equitably gain access to formal education because of unwanted conditions, be given equal access to quality education by taking an alternative learning system that will enable them to become productive workforce and members of the land.
The Jomtien Declaration of 1990 was a landmark because it stated that initial basic education was an absolute priority in order to ensure equity for all, and that this was impossible without expanding nonformal approaches to education. It stressed that complementary policies were needed to take into account adult learning, basic education for children and school leavers. Basic Education for All means that people, whatever their age, have an opportunity, individually and collectively, to realize their potential. It is not only a right; it is also a duty and a responsibility both to others and to society as a whole. It is essential that the recognition of the right to education throughout life should be accompanied by measures to create the conditions required to exercise this right.
Researches on citizenship and democracy are pointing that contemporary society cannot function effectively without adult basic education. The informed and effective participation of men and women in every sphere of life is needed if humanity is to survive and to meet the challenges of the future. Adult education thus becomes more than a right; it is a key to the twenty-first century. It is both a consequence of active citizenship and a condition for full participation in society" (Hamburg Declaration: 1-2)
In the Asian region, initial attempts in adult education were primarily focussed on imparting basic literacy skills. Basic literacy is a foundational part of lifelong learning. Literacy is seen as a tool for self-empowerment and a step in lifelong learning. Lifelong learning is not an abstract concept but the daily practice of ordinary people. It is context and culture specific, and relevant not only to rich countries but also to developing and least developed countries of the South.
There are commitments in several Asian countries to re-organize their educational systems from the perspective of lifelong learning and to systematize the learning which is already reflected in traditions, knowledge, experience and personal fulfillment that are rooted in the daily lives of the ordinary men and women. Alternative learning systems are being set up in every country. Non-formal education to continue post primary and post-secondary education is being offered to out-of-school and disadvantaged youth and adults who have been deprived of access to the formal system for various socio-economic reasons. Programmes have been established to focus on improving access to education for women, cultural minorities, rural and remote communities, the ageing population, street children, and persons living in conflict areas and in poverty conditions.
There is also a shift to a creation of literate societies and networks of lifelong learning in which many factors other than school come into play, such as the practice of writing integrated into the daily living and working environments, celebration of oral traditions in print media, and reflection of community life in newsletters. The focus is on making learning more relevant, maintaining an ongoing relationship with learning content and life experience, revitalizing local cultures and learning in the mother tongue and giving special attention to community participation.
All Asian countries, including the Philippines is putting education as their priority. Their goal is to eradicate illiteracy and make each citizen literate functional and productive. In this regard, they came up with alternative learning systems to address the educational needs of the citizens especially to those who cannot afford education due to their condition.
The Philippines has been targeting the Education for All. This goal of the government in terms of the education of the Filipinos cannot be addressed alone by the formal systems of education, those who cannot afford to go to formal schools are addressed to by the Alternative Learning Systems and Programs implemented by the Department of Education. The ALS has been of great help in the literacy program of Dep.Ed. Those drop-outs from formal schools were accepted in the ALS and were mainstreamed to the formal schools, while others were qualified to work as a result of their trainings provided by the ALS programs. At present, the ALS in our country is not yet successful in the attainment of it’s’ goals. To compare it to other ALS in other Asian countries, I would say they are at the same wavelength. The ALS programs of the Asian countries may have helped in addressing the educational needs of the less privileged citizens but still there are more citizens who were not able to avail of the education provided by the formal schools or even the alternative learning systems. Much effort has still to be done. The formal schools should tie up with the alternative learning systems to fully address the needs of all the citizens of each country.
Moreover, it may be true that the ALS of the Philippines as well as other Asian countries have been of great help, but the education that they offer to the learners cannot suffice the educational needs for them to qualify for higher education and even to land in good and decent jobs. The students may have acquired the basic literacy but that is not enough for them to qualify for pursuing higher education especially if they go back to formal schools. The quality education is at risk. They may have learned the basics of education but then again, in our current society wherein it is very competitive, the need for higher education is the demand to qualify for jobs.
It was also noted that more male students drop out from schools, be it in the formal schools or in the alternative schools. The cited reason why more male learners drop out from school than female is due to poverty. More male students are asked to look for jobs that would contribute to the income of the family. This has to be addressed, or else time will come when more male will not be qualified to work due to being uneducated or worst being illiterate.
In summary, most of the regions in our country have performance classified as “falling further behind” or with performance getting lower each year. While substantial investments have been poured into the establishment of basic education facilities, these were not enough to ensure that those who finish the ALS programs in elementary and secondary levels complete basic education with satisfactory achievement level. The basic education system should be responsive to the differentiated needs of learners where a “one-size-fit all” or conventional interventions are not enough or will no longer work.
For the country to achieve its target in 2015, the various basic education stakeholders should focus their efforts and resources in assisting the regions, divisions, schools or groups of learners who are lagging behind. In addition, the following are highly recommended as policy of actions and programs:
ü Operationalize the Joint Circular on establishing local literacy coordinating councils and literacy implementing units.
ü Fast track the introduction of methodologies to incorporate basic and functional literacy skills development in existing community development programs of various partners.
ü Increase DepEd’s budget for the Bureau of Alternative Learning System to enable it to continuously undertake policy/standard setting, national coordination and quality assurance (providing technical support and monitoring and evaluation.)
ü Redesign the ALS program viz. Ladderized Technical and Vocational Skills Program of TESDA.)
ü Intensify the Parent or Adult Education program to develop parents’ functional literacy and to advocate the value of being “educated.”
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