The Cracks of the Road Less Travelled: An Investigative Study on the Implementation of the Department of Education's Alternative Learning System in Quezon City and Manila from 2011-2016
Calanog, D.V. (2017). The Cracks of the Road Less Travelled: An Investigative Study on the Implementation of the Department of Education’s Alternative Learning System in Quezon City and Manila from 2011-2016. Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication.
With the appointment of Dr. Leonor Briones as the secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd) last year, high hopes were established for the Alternative Learning System (ALS).
This undergraduate thesis examined the implementation of the program in the last six years, with Quezon City and Manila as its case studies, in terms of monitoring, recruitment of learners and facilitators, and budget allocation. Guided by Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality, the study tried to pin down the recurring woes in the implementation and development (or lack of such) of the program.
The study found out that because ALS has not been a priority program of past administrations, it has taken a backseat to formal education big time, leaving potential learners unreached. The limited budget the program has gotten for the past six years best illustrates its status as a far second priority to formal education.
Furthermore, the abolition of the Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS) has only hampered the implementation of the program, as DepEd officials and employees, who previously worked solely on alternative education, have been distributed to different bureaus, not allowing them to focus on ALS as they also aid in the other projects of the department.
Keywords: alternative learning system, alternative education, education