Seameo Innotech lauds DepEd, USAid for 2024 ALS Summit

THE Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (Seameo Innotech) commends the Department of Education (DepEd) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAid) for organizing the 2024 Alternative Learning System (ALS) Summit held at Innotech's Pearl Hall in Diliman, Quezon City on June 13 and 14.

The ALS Summit 2024 is part of Opportunity 2.0 (O2), a five-year program of USAid that assists DepEd on strengthening the local and national ALS.

Seameo Innotech plays a pivotal role in this program through capacity building and provision of technical assistance to DepEd's Bureau of Alternative Education (BAE).

Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology director and former Education secretary Leonor Briones with Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian (seated, fourth and fifth from left, respectively), United States Agency for International Development team led by Rebekah Eubanks, Department of Education representatives and other stakeholders at the 2024 Alternative Learning System Summit in Diliman, Quezon City on June 13 and 14. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Seameo Innotech director and former Education secretary Leonor Briones emphasized the enduring importance of ALS in her opening remarks. She highlighted its cultural and educational significance, urging sustained support to expand its accessibility and ensure educational equity.

As an ALS learner herself at the onset of World War 2, she highlighted the significant impact of ALS on Filipino learners.

«The ALS program has been instrumental in providing education to those who have been unable to pursue formal schooling due to various challenges,» Briones stated.

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Under her term as Education secretary, ALS earning System has always been one of the cornerstones of her and former President Rodrigo Duterte's administration. They were contributory to the passing of the Republic Act No. 11510 of 2020 otherwise known as the Alternative Learning System Act that provides opportunities for out-of-school youth and adult (OSYA) learners to develop basic and functional literacy skills, and to access