Section 4Sec./Art. 4

Definition of Terms. -For the purposes of this Act:

(a)Alternative Learning System K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum (ALS K to 12 BEC)shall refer to the comprehensive curriculum indicating the competency, content, key stages, and standards for the ALS program under this Act. The ALS K to 12 BEC is benchmarked on the DepEd K to 12 formal school curriculum and focuses on the 21st Century Skills: information, media and technology skills, learning and innovation skills, communication skills, and life and career skills.

(b)Alternative Learning System Teachers (ALS Teachers)shall refer to DepEd employed teachers who implement the ALS programs.

(c)Academic-Focused Bridging Programsshall refer to ALS programs that provide continuing learning opportunities to accreditation and equivalency secondary level test passers who wish to better prepare for the academic demands and study skills requirements of tertiary level education or post-secondary vocational training, or both.

(d)Accreditation and Equivalency Assessments and Certifications (A&E Assessments and Certifications)shall refer to a process in ALS that comprise exams and other assessments deemed appropriate and anchored on the competencies of the ALS k to 12 BEC.

(e)Accreditation and Equivalency Program (A&E Program)shall refer to a program in ALS aimed at providing an alternative pathway of learning for out-of-school children in special cases and adults who have not completed basic education. Through this program, school dropouts are able to complete elementary and secondary education outside the formal school system.

(f)Adultshall refer to a person at least eighteen (18) years of age and above.

(g)Alternative Learning System (ALS)shall refer to a parallel learning system that provides a viable alternative to the existing formal education instruction. It encompasses both nonformal and informal sources of knowledge and skills.

(h)Basic Literacy Programshall refer to a program component of ALS that is aimed at eradicating illiteracy among out-of-school children in special cases and adults by developing basic literacy skills of reading, writing, numeracy, and simple comprehension.

(i)Community Alternative Learning System Implementors (Community ALS Implementors)shall refer to persons engaged either by the DepEd or any local government unit (LGU) to deliver ALS programs to out-of-school children in special cases and adults.

(j)Community Learning Center (CLC)shall refer to a physical space to house learning resources and facilities of a learning program for out-of-school children in special cases and adults. It is a venue for face-to-face learning activities and other learning opportunities for community development and improvement of the people's quality of life.

(k)Functional Education and Literacy Programsshall refer to short-term nonformal education programs designed to help socioeconomically disadvantaged learners to upgrade a targeted set of skills, knowledge and selected competencies in the ALS to 12 BEC in order to improve their social, political and economic well-being and function more effectively as citizens, parents, workers and members of the community.

(l)Indigenous Peoplesrefer to a group of people or homogenous societies identified by self-ascription by others, who have continuously lived as organized community on communally bounded and defined territory, and who have under claims of ownership since time immemorial, occupied, possessed and utilized such territories, sharing common bonds of language, customs, tradition and other distinctive cultural traits or who have, through resistance to political, social and cultural inroads of colonization became historically differentiated from the majority of the Filipinos.

(m)Indigenous Peoples Educationshall refer to the program that supports education initiatives undertaken through formal, nonformal, and informal modalities with emphasis on any of, but not limited to, the key areas of indigenous knowledge systems and practices and community history, indigenous languages , indigenous learning system (ILS), and community life cycle-based curriculum and assessment, educational goals, aspirations and competencies specific to the indigenous cultural community (ICC), engagement of elders and other community members in the teaching-learning process, assessment, and management of the initiative, recognition and continuing practice of the community's ILS, and the rights and responsibilities of ICCs.

(n)Informal Educationshall refer to diverse forms of learning that are intentional or deliberate but are not institutionalized. It is a lifelong process of learning by which every person acquires and accumulates knowledge, skills, attitudes and insights from daily experiences at home, at work, at play and from life itself towards literacy.

(o)Learners with Disabilitiesshall refer to those who have long-term physical mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on equal basis with others.

(p)Learning Facilitatorsshall refer to teachers financed by t he private sector who implement ALS programs. The private sector shall include nongovernment organizations or association, civil society organizations, or individuals.

(q)Micro-certification, also known as micro-credentialing, shall refer to a flexible means of certifying attainment of specific elements of ALS K to 12 minimum competencies which can be used by the holder as credential such as in job application, recruitment and selection.

(r)Nonformal Education (NFE)shall refer to any organized and systematic activity carried outside the framework of the formal education system to provide selected types of learners to a segment of the population.

(s)Out-of-School Children in Special Casesshall refer to children in the official school age who are not enrolled in the elementary or secondary schools due to special cases such as economic, geographic, political, cultural or social barriers, including learners with disabilities or conditions, indigenous peoples, children in conflict with the law, learners in emergency situations, and other marginalized sectors.