EDUCATION Secretary Leonor Briones said that the number of enrollees in Alternative Learning System grew during the Duterte administration.

In comparison to the preceding two administrations, ALS enrollment increased to 95.35 percent, Briones said.

ALS is a parallel learning system that provides opportunities for out-of-school youth and adult learners to develop basic and functional literacy skills and to access equivalent pathways to complete basic education.

Republic Act 11510 formalized ALS and assured a larger funding for the program.

“When the Senate and the House initiated the ALS Act, it became a landmark legislation aiming to institutionalize the ALS program, and this cannot be possible without our President. When I first came in, we increased the budget of the Department of Education by 30 percent, most of it going to the ALS programs. So, we are now feeling much more secure because we are backed up by law and supported by other branches of the government,” Briones said.

The DepEd partnered with Davao City to allow inmates to enroll in the program in line with its aim to help the poor.

“These are the kids whom others describe as those who have fallen through the cracks, who cannot pursue education, who have to work and, for one reason or another, cannot attend classes the traditional way,” Briones said.

“I have seen and met young jail inmates in Davao with the initiative of Mayor Sara Duterte, who benefited from the ALS. We are reaching out not only to those in the streets, farmers, factory workers, but also to those who are in prison and those who are in remote places,” she added.

“While there are still challenges in basic education, we have made significant progress over the past six years. We have endeavored to ensure that education must continue and that no one is left behind. This is the education legacy of the Duterte administration,” Briones said.