Statement of Sen. Win Gatchalian on the signing of the Alternative Learning System Act

The institutionalization of the Alternative Learning System (ALS) is a timely and urgent measure considering the disruptions caused by the COVID-9 pandemic in the education sector.

Prior to the pandemic, the World Bank reported that about 24 million Filipinos aged 15 and above have not completed basic education and around 2.4 million children aged 5 and 14 are not in school. When the pandemic struck, around 2.3 million learners in K to 12 were not able to enroll. For those participating under the existing ALS programs, around 45% of the previous year's participants did not enroll.

By building an ALS Community Learning Center in every city and municipality, we can make this program more accessible to millions of out-of-school children in special cases----such as learners with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, children in conflict with the law, and those from other marginalized sectors ----and adults. The law also mandates the creation of teaching positions with the corresponding salary grades, which is key to ensuring that there will be a sufficient number of ALS Teachers in the implementation of the program.

Mahalaga ang magiging papel ng batas na ito sa pagbangon ng sektor ng edukasyon sa pinsalang dulot ng pandemya. Nagpapasalamat