House of Representatives. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines —Students may soon qualify for an “open high school” system under the Department of Education (DepEd) after a bill was passed in the House of Representatives.
House Bill 4085, which was passed under third and final reading, seeks to establish an open high school system as an alternative secondary education program for elementary and high school students.
The bill’s author, Pangasinan Representative Kimi Cojuangco, said the bill will also make open high school system to out-of-school youth free.
Cojuangco, who chairs the House committee on basic education and culture, said “the measure will provide equal opportunity for adults and children of high school age who are out of school to avail of free open high school education through the distance learning modality.”
According to the bill, open high school system delivers educational services to students through print, radio, television and computer-based communications, satellite broadcasts, teleconferences, and other multimedia learning and teaching technologies which allow students to learn on their own without the need to attend classes in schools.
The bill will establish the system as part of DepEd’s alternative secondary education program.
Under the bill, all children and adults who have finished elementary education, as well as high school students who qualified under the Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT), may apply for open high school system.
Teachers and support personnel, according to the bill, will receive incentives, monetary compensation and honoraria. They will also be trained in relevant programs.
The bill encourages the DepEd, the University of the Philippines-Open Educational System, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) specifying their roles in implementing the open high school system.
Meanwhile, private education institutions may establish their own privately-funded distance learning centers subject to DepEd’s approval.
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