Part of Goducate’s literacy program in Laguna, Philippines, is to help people through the Philippines Department of Education’s Alternative Learning System (ALS). The ALS allows those who have not completed their conventional schooling to continue their education. Those who pass the secondary level ALS examination can qualify for tertiary education.
In 2014 Goducate Laguna had 8 students preparing for the ALS, 6 at secondary and 2 at elementary level. From June 2014, they met twice a week for 4 hours each time, under the instruction of Mechie Decinal, a Goducate volunteer who had just qualified as a certified ALS instruction manager.
The students took their examinations in December. The results were announced in June this year. 2 of our students passed, both at secondary level. They were 2 of the 27 in the town of Bay who passed, out of 102 who took the examination at secondary level. In the 2013 exams, Goducate candidates also did relatively well—4 of the 19 successful candidates in Bay were Goducate students (see Feb 28, 2014 blog).
One of the successful candidates was Jelmar Lobusto, aged 25, who had been brought up in an orphanage and had completed his secondary schooling there, but the academy at the orphanage was not one accredited by the Philippines Department of Education.
The other successful candidate this year was Bernardo Endonila, aged 42, who had to drop out of school at 15 to help his parents earn a living for the family. He has 5 children (2 of whom are in the Goducate music program), and drives a rented jeepney. A jeepney is a highly decorated jeep-like vehicle used as a form of public transport in the Philippines.
Both these men are planning to take courses held by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). Goducate will continue to assist them in fulfilling their dreams.
