By
Alfonso T. Ruda
DIPOLOG
CITY - The Department of Education’s (DepEd) Alternative
Learning System (ALS) has transformed the once meaningless life of a young
parent into a productive member of the society.
Maritess
Amadeo Delos Reyes, 31, single parent, and a resident of Lower Dicayas, Dipolog
City is now a professional teacher after she graduated from a Bachelor of Elementary
Education (BEED) degree at the Jose Rizal State University, Dipolog City campus
in 2014.
From Davao to Dipolog
Maritess
or Tess, as fondly called by her friends, is a native of Digos City, Davao del
Sur, but grew up and finished her elementary education in Sawata, Davao del
Norte. Because of poverty, Maritess was not able to proceed to high school. Instead
she had to work as housemaid in Davao City right after finishing her elementary
education to help her parents.
At
age 16, she met a partner and blessed with a baby boy. Like other young
couples, their union did not work and they parted ways. In trying to forget her
sad love story, she migrated and tried her luck in Dipolog, City leaving her
son to her mother-in-law.
Hope in ALS
Maritess,
who seemed to forget the meaning and value of education, has revived her
interest in education when she met a certain Tony Recososa who prodded her her younger
sister, Marlyn, to enroll in ALS and to take the Accreditation and Equivalency
(A&E) test.
To
cut the story short, Marlyn took and passed the A&E test. She then took uo
cosmetology, a TESDA-accredited course, at the Western Mindanao State
University in Zamboanga City. As a skilled manicurist, Marlyn was able to find
employment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Inspired by her sister
“My
younger sister’s success through the ALS inspired me to follow in her
footsteps,” Maritess said. “I decided to enroll in ALS and took the A & E test
in 2009.”
Her
strong determination enabled her to pass the A&E test, making her eleigible
to enroll in college with Marlyn, her younger sister, supporting her studies at
the Jose Rizal Memorial State University, Dipolog City campus. She took up
Bachelor of Elementary Education and graduated in 2014. She then took the
Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) given by the Professional Regulation
Commission (PRC) in Pagadian City on Aug. 17, 2014. When the LET result was
released, Maritess hurdled the test.
Volunteer-teacher
Right
now Maritess has been hired by the Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS)
of the Dipolog City Schools Division as a volunteer-teacher for ALS’ newest
program, the “Abot Alam Program,” which caters to the educational needs of the
out-of-school youth aged 15-30 years old who have not finished their studies and/or
unemployed.
Tess
considers her entry to ALS as the fulfillment of her dream to help other people
who have abandoned their studies and lost their desire of going to school for various
reasons.
“Now
that the government has come up with these programs, we must grab it. One has
only to open up his mind to realize that our government has not abandoned us. Let
us show that we want also to improve. With ALS, the government wants everyone
to earn education regardless of age. That there is no such thing as late or
“gulang naman ko” (am old enough). The government
is so good, because it offers a program for those who have not gone to formal
education. Who would ever think that after having been away from school for so
long, I could still finish a course after enrolling in ALS and passing the A
& E test,” Maritess shared.