Republic of the Philippines Alternative Learning System Study Alternative and Inclusive Learning in the Philippines

The Philippines has made remarkable progress in improving the quality of basic education in recent decades. Even so, despite significant improvements in primary and secondary education, the number of students who drop out of school remains worryingly high. More than five million youths have failed to complete a basic education (elementary and high school). 1 Alternative Learning System (ALS) is a second-chance, informal education program operated by the Department of Education (DepEd) for out-of-school youths and adults.2 This report aims to assess the current implementation of ALS using a variety of sources3, including recent surveys, and analyses (a) the target populations, (b) current beneficiaries, (c) delivery modes (with a focus on learning facilitators’ contracting schemes), and (d) labour market returns to ALS.