The heat of the sun was not a hindrance to some 1,613 learners as they marched wearing their white uniforms matched with colourful Malong garments and formal wear during the Alternative Learning System (ALS) Completion Rites held consecutively on February 24 to February 28, 2018 at the twenty-three (23) identified areas.
With the theme “Pagkakaisa sa Pagkakaiba: Kalidad na Edukasyon Para sa Lahat,” kin, community leaders and members joined together in these joyful and memorable events.
The ceremonies confirmed 574 completers in the Basic Literacy Program (BLP), 531 in the elementary level, and 494 finishers in the secondary level. Also present were District ALS Coordinators (DALSC) and representatives from the Department of Education (DepEd) to formally affirm the said numbers.
ALS is one of the components of the Mindanao Trust Fund-Reconstruction and Development Project Phase II (MTF-RDP/2) which aims to provide Community Development assistance and interventions to the identified communities in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao – particularly the six previously acknowledged camps of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The MTF-RDP/2, funded by The World Bank through the Mindanao Trust Fund (MTF), is a program implemented through a project partnership agreement between the Community and Family Services International (CFSI) and the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA).
ALS caters the educational needs of vulnerable groups, such as women, orphans and indigenous people; out-of-school youths and adults; school drop-outs and adults who had not been through formal schooling and are interested to pursue education or obtain practical knowledge or skills.
It is a non-formal and modular process which requires the learners to attend at least 250 hours of learning sessions conducted by the Instructional Managers (IM). In this implementation, the said learners were engaged into sessions that ran for six months..
The completers received Certificates of Completion. Aside from the certificates, medals were awarded to learners who have exhibited outstanding performance in various fields of learning and leadership.
Expressing her gratitude, Taya Acob, ALS completer in the elementary level, said in her speech “Thank you for giving us another chance to reach our dreams.” Taya opted to drop out in grade school to help her parents earn a living. “The ALS has opened another door especially for us elderlies,” she added. Taya is from Barangay Kinebeka situated at Camp Badre. “Education is something that we can carry even into our grave, one thing that cannot be stolen from us. Let this not be the end for us, my co-learners. Let us seek more learning and gain more knowledge,” she ended.
Also in attendance are officials and representatives from the CFSI, BDA, Joint Task Forces on Camp Transformation (JTFCT), Local Government Units (LGUs), Barangay Local Government Units (BLGUs) and People’s Organizations (PO).
Following the Completion Ceremonies, 408 ALS Learners took the Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Test on March 2-3, 2019 for Maguindanao 1 Areas and on March 3, 2019 for Maguindanao 2, Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur. The passers of this test shall be awarded certificates or diplomas equivalent to graduates of the formal school system. This will qualify passers to proceed and enrol in the secondary and post-secondary level.
The second phase of ALS operation has been drawn out from the success of the previous implementation of MTF-RDP. For this phase, various activities were added to ensure improvement of the literacy in the six major camp communities.
The MTF is a multi-donor trust fund supported by donors such as the European Union, the government of Sweden, Australia, Canada, United States, New Zealand and the World Bank. The World Bank functions as Trust Fund Administrator of the MTF.
In support to the objectives of the MTF-RDP/2, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) provided complementary assistance directly to CFSI through the project referred to as “Supporting Access to Basic Services and Building Institutional Capacity in Conflict Affected Areas in Mindanao or MTF-RDP/2-AECID.”