By
Alfonso T. Ruda
DIPOLOG
CITY – A graduation ceremony for some 267 passers of the 2012
Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) test from this city was held here last
week by the city schools division at the Miputak covered court with Ms.
Virginia Amiruddin, chief of the Alternative Learning System (ALS) of the
Department of Education (DepED)-IX, as guest of honor and speaker.
In
her message, Amiruddin commended the passers for having overcome the challenges
and trials in life by enrolling in the ALS program that would bring them back
to formal education, noting their firm resolve of getting assessed and be part
of the ongoing learning.
She
also expressed thanks to the passers’ parents, relative and friends for
continuously giving them support and motivation.
The
ALS chief also cited the important role of the lawmakers in coming up with the
alternative learning accreditation equivalency program as an innovation in the
education curriculum that brings back to formal training those who have stopped
schooling.
“About
20 or 30 years ago, once a child, teenager or adult for some reason or another
finds himself or herself out of the formal school, he or she is looked upon as
a person who has stopped progressing. But with the Alternative Learning, one is
given an opportunity to recover the lost years in school,” Amiruddin said.
Vicenta
Timanuno, 59, elementary level passer thanked ALS for giving her a chance to
enter high school next year without going through the usual process. To her,
“age doesn’t matter in education,” as she vowed to enroll in high school this
school year and make a difference in her life.
Ms.
Catalina Samson-Barinaga, city division’s ALS in-charge said of the 267
graduates, 244 were secondary level passers while 23 for the elementary level.
Elementary
level passers are eligible to enroll in high school this school year while
secondary level passers are also eligible to enroll in any four year course at
any tertiary learning institution in the country.
Meanwhile,
the graduation rite for the inmates who have passed the A & E Test is
slated to be held on May 30, 2013 inside the Dipolog City Jail complex at
Barangay Dicayas this city.
The
graduation ceremony was also attended by Assistant Schools Division Supt. Dr.
Marajani Jacinto, representing City Schools Division Superintendent Victorina
Perez. (PIA9)
