Alternative Delivery Modality

Carl Angel D. Hilbero

How to Increase Access to Basic Education

Quality education is the goal of all nations. However, up to this time, the
quest for quality education is still a work in progress. Over time, the continuing
unresolved issues of accessibility, availability, and quality as regards to
education have resulted in millions of adults lacking literacy skills.A significant
number of young people are still not able to access quality and relevant basic
education. Some learners experience difficulty in transitioning from primary to
secondary level, and from secondary level to the labour market. In some parts
of Southeast Asia, there is disparity in terms of completion of basic education
between rural and urban learners, and between working students and those
studying full time. Learners from marginalized groups, including indigenous
people, young people with special needs, and those from low socioeconomic
groups, also face challenges in accessing and completing basic education.
There are many barriers that can push learners out of the formal school
system, including geographical distance, poverty, conflict, natural disasters,
etc. Alternative delivery modes (ADMs) offer solutions that may help learners
outside of the regular school system acquire the needed basic education
competencies and life skills.
I learned that Education for All becomes the flagship of the Department
of Education and the government as a whole. It is always inculcated in my
mind that the provision of basic education to all Filipinos is one of the basic
duties of the Philippine government to its people. In support to this statement,
I would like to reiterate Rule 1, Section 1.1 of RA 9155 which stipulates that
the Department of Education shall: protect and promote the right of all citizens
to quality basic education and shall take appropriate steps to make such
education accessible to all; establish, maintain, and support a complete,
adequate, and integrated systems of basic education relevant to the needs of
the people and society; encourage non-formal, informal, and indigenous
learning system, as well as self-learning, independent, and out-of-school study
programs; and establish and maintain a system of free and compulsory public
education in the elementary level and high school level. To ensure that
Education for All will be achieved, Alternative Delivery Mode was strengthened
in the Philippine Educational System by allocating budget for every ADM
program implemented in identified schools. Alternative Delivery Mode of
instruction was introduced in order to address the learning needs of the
marginalized students and those learners at risk of dropping out in order to
help them overcome social and economic constraints of their schooling. ADMs
are innovations believed to make the school system more inclusive and flexible,
especially for children who are at risk of dropping out, hard to reach, living in
highly congested learning environments, or having difficulty coping with
regular school calendar. Alternative Delivery Mode of instruction has become
an option which schools, parents, students, and learners can choose from to
answer their needs of accessing quality basic education depending on their
situation. Learners from marginalized sectors are given the equal opportunity
to access quality basic education: either to go through the traditional way of
schooling or through the Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM). ADM modalities I
am familiar with include Enhanced Instructional Management by Parents,
Community and Teachers (E-IMPACT) and Open High School Program (OHSP).
E-IMPACT is being implemented to strengthen multigrade teaching in small
and remote schools. This technology-enhanced alternative delivery mode of
learning consists of a peer-led approach is the main process that allows pupils
to learn, interact with each other and develop to their fullest potential. The
OHSP is an alternative way of delivering secondary education. It is open to
individuals who are unable to attend regular classes because of time
constrictions, distance, physical disability, financial difficulties, and social and
family constraints.
ADMs are innovations believed to make the school system more inclusive
and flexible, especially for children who are at risk of dropping out, hard to
reach, living in highly congested learning environments, or having difficulty
coping with regular school calendar. Alternative Delivery Mode of instruction
has become an option which schools, parents, students, and learners can
choose from to answer their needs of accessing quality basic education
depending on their situation. Learners from marginalized sectors are given the
equal opportunity to access quality basic education: either to go through the
traditional way of schooling or through the Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM).
Alternative Delivery Modalities are EASE, OHSP, E-IMPACT, , and MISOSA.
One of the ADMs at the secondary level is the Effective and Affordable
Secondary Education (EASE) Program which was designed and implemented to
complement the existing formal system. It is applicable to students who cannot
attend to school for a short while. EASE Program makes it possible for
students to learn outside the school through self-instructional modules. When
the student goes back to school, he/she will be tested on how he/she learn
his/her lesson. Another ADM for secondary students is the OHSP is an
alternative way of delivering secondary education. It is open to individuals who
are unable to attend regular classes because of time constrictions, distance,
physical disability, financial difficulties, and social and family constraints.
Potential learners are the working students, street children, young mothers,
and students who have experienced difficult and abusive circumstances. The
OHSP seeks to: (1) provide elementary graduates, high school dropouts, and
successful examinees of the Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) a
chance to complete secondary education; (2) prevent students who are at risk
of leaving school or those already out of school; (3) maintain and/or increase
participation rate and reduce the number of high school dropouts; and (4)
increase achievement rate in secondary schooling through quality distance
education. The OHSP seeks to: (1) provide elementary graduates, high school
dropouts, and successful examinees of the Philippine Educational Placement
Test (PEPT) a chance to complete secondary education; (2) prevent students
who are at risk of leaving school or those already out of school; (3) maintain
and/or increase participation rate and reduce the number of high school
dropouts; and (4) increase achievement rate in secondary schooling through
quality distance education. In July 2014, the Open High School System was
established through the Open High School System (OHSS) Act or Republic Act
10665. The Act identifies OHSP as a form of intervention to improve access to
education via an open learning modality. It mandates the DepEd to allocate
funds for the program. In order to address these problems in education in the
public school system, the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization
(SEAMEO) Innotech designed the Enhanced Instructional Management for
Parents, Community and Teachers (e-IMPACT), a technology-enhanced
alternative delivery mode of learning wherein a peer-led approach is the main
process that allows pupils to learn, interact with each other and develop to
their fullest potential. In the e-IMPACT system, every single pupil has access to
modules and Instructional Materials to guide them in their education. More
than being trained on how to become facilitators of the learning process, the
school faculty learns new perspectives about children and child education.
Parents and members of the community become actively engaged in sustaining
the system and making it work. Their support is crucial in ensuring that the
learning process continues in their homes. Thus, in the process of learning
with the child, a whole community is transformed. Classes under MISOSA are
divided into two groups—the in-school group and the off-school group, wherein
the in-school group learns in a typical classroom set-up, while the off-school
group is given the flexibility to learn and do activities independently, or with a
learning facilitator. Then, the in-school group will exchange with and
experience the learning intervention of those in the off-school group, and vice
versa. Moreover, both groups will report to school at the same time for
enrichment and assessment of learning. The off-school group utilizes self-
instructional modules, while those inside the classroom use the learner’s
materials and textbooks provided by the DepEd. It is a technology-enhanced
ADM, which aims to address both access and quality education issues. This
enables schools to deliver elementary education despite the lack of teachers,
classrooms and other concerns.
As I compare my learnings and insights gained from my readings, I
realize that indeed the increasing percentage of dropouts poses a big challenge
to achieving universal basic education. Over time, the continuing unresolved
issues of accessibility, availability, and quality in regard to education have
resulted in millions of adults lacking literacy skills. Deficient in quality
education and lacking in productive skills, the country’s young people face a
less secure future against a highly competitive global economy. To widen the
access of marginalized and disadvantaged learners to quality basic education,
the Department of Education (DepEd) implemented the Alternative Delivery
Modes (ADMs) in the formal education system in both elementary and
secondary levels. The ADMs primarily aim to address the problem on classroom
congestion and other situations and circumstances, which prevent children
from going to and staying in school.
As a summary, in line with the goals of the global education for all, the
Department of Education through the Bureau of Elementary Education, and
the Bureau of Secondary Education implemented the Alternative Delivery Mode
namely E-IMPACT, MISOSA, OHSP, and EASE. DepEd anchored the
implementation of ADMs on the following principles: 1) basic education is free
and shall be accessible to all; 2) education is a right of every individual; 3)
education is inclusive and not discriminating; and 4) stakeholder participation
is integral to total child development. This alternative modality was developed
to address the problems of seasonal absentee learners and congested
classrooms in schools.
As a teacher, I may not be one of those who handled or implemented
these ADMs, but I find it very useful and accommodating for those learners
who cannot attend regular classes. ADMs serve as medium for them to
continue and finish schooling if they comply all the requirements of a certain
ADM. This summer, I can still notice out-of-school youths in our place. I am
going to encourage them to try and get enrolled in any of these ADM , one that
suits their needs and conditions. Learners have access to various modules and
other instructional materials to guide them in this learning intervention. As
part of DepEd, I will support other local initiatives or efforts to widen and
improve learners’ access to basic education, aside from the four introduced
alternative modalities. This will better address the access to basic education
problems per region, division, or school.
References:

Department of Education. Open High School Program (OHSP) Handbook. Pasig