Declaration of Policy and Rationale
- Education is an inalienable right for all individuals regardless of age, gender, or socio-economic status.
- The Philippine Constitution mandates access to quality and relevant education through formal and alternative systems.
- The OHSS is a mode under the formal system focusing on independent, self-paced learning for learners unable to attend or complete secondary education due to various barriers.
- The OHSS assists DepEd in fulfilling its mandate to provide access to quality basic education.
Goals and Objectives
- General objective: Provide high school age learners access to secondary education through an alternative delivery mode.
- Specific objectives include retaining at-risk learners, encouraging OSY to return, assisting elementary graduates and high school qualifiers via PEPT and ALS A&E Test, and contributing to UNESCO's Education 2030 Vision.
- OHSS operates parallel to ALS as an access strategy.
Definition of Terms
- Provides clear definitions for terms including Act, Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM), Alternative Learning System (ALS), Community Adviser, Formal Education System, Learning Center, Mother High School, Open High School System (OHSS), Open High School Teacher, Open Learning, Source Person, Teacher Adviser of Gurong Tagapatnubay.
- Defines the roles and qualifications of various personnel involved in OHSS.
Establishment and Participation
- OHSS is established as part of DepEd's alternative secondary education program alongside ALS.
- Public and private schools must meet criteria including facilities, learning resources, and LGU partnerships for participation.
- Letter of Intent for implementation must be submitted and endorsed appropriately.
- Designation of OHSS Division Coordinator and routine monitoring are mandated.
- Learning Centers are to be established under mother schools, with OHS Teachers as coordinators.
Administration and Functions
- DepEd administers the OHSS through an OHSS Unit responsible for policy formulation, monitoring, material development, inter-agency collaboration, guideline promulgation, budget recommendations, and other necessary functions.
Recruitment, Training, and Incentives
- OHS Teachers and Teacher Advisers are selected from current mother school teachers.
- Community Advisers and Source Persons hired by LGUs with honoraria.
- Prioritization for locally-hired teachers is mandated.
- Training for all personnel including stakeholders is required, coordinated with LGUs and NGOs.
- Teaching load considerations and service credits for OHSS teaching are specified.
- Detailed responsibilities outlined for Teacher Advisers and OHS Teachers.
- Guidance counseling services to be provided by Registered Guidance Counselors or professional counselors if available.
Learner Admission and Requirements
- OHSS open to youth and adults who have finished elementary, PEPT qualifiers, ALS A&E qualifiers, and formal system learners unable to complete secondary education.
- Entrance requirements include report cards or certificates, ILRT and IRI tests, interviews, and possibly home visits.
- Orientation and learning contracts are mandatory.
- Maximum enrollment per class is 20 learners based on reading level grouping.
Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
- The K to 12 Enhanced Basic Education Curriculum is adopted.
- Learning is flexible, multi-channeled, and learner-directed.
- Regular consultation schedules established; learners can shift to other modalities if necessary.
- Module issuance and retrieval managed by learning agreements.
- Learner responsibilities detailed including attendance, independent study, consultations, and monitoring progress.
- Supervision by subject teachers and teacher advisers; home visits as needed.
- Assessment aligns with DepEd policies including national standardized tests.
Partnerships and External Linkages
- Private educational institutions may participate subject to standards and MOAs.
- MOAs between DepEd and DILG encouraged to define roles.
- Partnerships with civil society and community encouraged.
- Community and LGU roles detailed in referring learners, advocacy, resourcing, and activities.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Schools must implement the program, designate coordinators, coordinate with LGUs, include OHSS in improvement plans, manage resources and community facilities, and conduct evaluations and conferences.
- SDOs provide permits, quality assurance, compliance monitoring, technical assistance, and progress monitoring.
- Regional Offices support SDOs through permitting, resource allocation, technical assistance, and monitoring.
Evaluation and Review
- DepEd will regularly evaluate the OHSS using indicators such as enrollment, completion rates, stakeholder feedback, and learner assessment results.
- Guidelines and procedures shall be reviewed and amended as necessary.
- Research encouraged to support implementation improvements.
Appropriations and Amendments
- Initial funding from existing DepEd budgets, continued funding included in annual General Appropriations Act.
- Additional policies may be issued by DepEd in consultation with DILG.
- Amendments to IRR issued similarly.
Miscellaneous Provisions
- Separability clause ensures validity of remaining provisions if parts are declared unconstitutional.
- Repealing clause nullifies inconsistent prior rules.
- IRR effective 15 days after publication and registered with the Office of the National Administrative Register.