User:Breathly Baldostamon/sandbox

Assessment Scenario A twelve year old out of school youth who stopped during the fourth grade took a test given by the Department of Education to go back to formal schooling. The test determines the grade or year level appropriate for the learner.

DepEd, educ partner to equip OSYs with ICT skills through ALS

March 26, 2015 “The bigger mandate of the Department of Education (DepEd) is to look out for those who cannot be in school, those who dropped out of school, and those who dare not dream of entering a school. The real mandate of the Department is to be in search of those who cannot, in one way or another, enter the system,” Education Secretary Br. Armin Luistro FSC said during the signing of the memorandum of agreement with STI Education Services Group, Inc. for the 36 STI campuses that will serve as community learning centers (CLCs) for Out-of-School Youths (OSYs) nationwide.

STI shall provide physical space in its 36 head-office owned campuses nationwide to accommodate OSYs who intend to finish their secondary education. STI campuses will serve as CLCs in the delivery of DepEd’s Alternative Learning System (ALS) under the Abot-Alam program.

Aside from the classrooms, STI will also provide necessary computer units and other equipment for the conduct of eSkwela and will offer assistance or manpower to conduct ALS sessions on Information Technology.

STI President Monico Jacob said, “We think that time has come for us to really elevate our students not only to be at par with the world but to be similarly equipped when they graduate.” Jacob added that DepEd’s effort to go beyond the four walls of a classroom and venture out to the OSYs is an innovation and an act of boldness he has not seen before in the Department.

The pilot area of CLC for OSYs will be at the STI Ortigas-Cainta campus. Earlier this month, DepEd and STI held an orientation meeting for OSYs mapped under the Abot-Alam program in the district of Cainta who expressed their interest in completing their basic education.

Going beyond the four corners of a classroom

DepEd and STI have also entered a partnership called “Computer Laboratory on Wheels” (STI Mobile School), which aims to provide students with a foundation on computer literacy and to teach them to use basic information and communications technology (ICT) tools.

STI Mobile School is a complete laboratory with internet access contained within a motor bus. Each mobile computer laboratory has 24 computer units. Teachers of STI Mobile School will teacher public school students about Computer Concepts, Application Software, and ICT training.

This partnership shall benefit a minimum number of 100 public schools and a minimum number of 15,000 students for the duration of five (5) school years.

Luistro emphasized the need for innovation in delivering quality education to Filipino learners and in promoting real learning. “We cannot just deal with the current. We cannot just stay in the path that is tried and tested. As educators, we have to take risks outside of the normal confines of where we are comfortable. Sometimes, we make mistakes. If we don't take that risk, we would not have made a difference.”