Cebuana Lhuillier awards outstanding ALS teacher

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Cebuana Lhuillier has awarded the country’s best Alternative Learning System (ALS) teacher. The nationwide search formally dubbed as NALSTAR (National Alternative Learning System Teachers’ Achievement Recognition) is the first- of-its-kind and serves as collaboration between the country’s biggest microfinancial company’s social responsibility arm, Cebuana Lhuillier Foundation, Inc. (CLFI) and the Department of Education (DepEd), to honor and recognize exemplary ALS teachers nationwide.

Windel Alvarez from Caramoan, Camarines Sur took home the NALSTAR trophy as a grand winner with a cash prize of Php 250,000, half of which will become seed money for his own ALS school. Teacher Windel bested 4 other finalists: Mr. Bienvenido C. Cabaro Jr. from Region II Cagayan Valley; Ms. Doreen D. Pabonita from Region X Northern Mindanao; Ms. Michaelle T. Saganib from Cordillera Administrative Region; and Ms. Sara P. Tejada from National Capital Region.

Teacher Windel was awarded at the National Literacy Conference and Awards held at the Supreme Hotel in Baguio City last September 4 to 6, 2018.

Jean Henri Lhuillier, PJLI president and CEO, has expressed his support and appreciation of the dedication of ALS teachers nationwide, “The success of the ALS program can be attributed to the hard work and dedication of its educators, who give more than a 100% of their efforts in moulding and educating the youth, especially those coming from indigent communities. NALSTAR is our means to recognize their selfless commitment to teaching.”

Tonisito M.C. Umali, DepEd Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs, External Partnerships and School Sports lauds the 30-year old microfinancial company for its commitment to education, “CLFI’s commitment to bring education closer to the youth—especially coming from the marginalized communities has always been laudable. They took the ideals of the ALS program and made it infinitely better by ensuring that the teachers under their ALS schools have all the resources needed to make learning a fun and meaningful exercise to the students. They have also equipped their ELS educators with training programs thus ensuring that learning is a two-way process between educator and student,” Umali shares.

CLFI is one of the country’s leading proponents of alternative learning, providing out-of-school-youths and those from indigent families with an opportunity to complete high school via alternative schooling. In 2018, CLFI has already surpassed its own targets: establishing 75 partner schools which educated more than 11,000 learners, of which, 1, 482 learners have already obtained their elementary and/or high school diplomas. Its learners’ ALS Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Test passing average also consistently surpassed the national average for the A&E Test—netting 57% passing rate in 2015 and 71% in 2016. One notable graduate, Carina Cortes, a Cebuana Lhuillier ALS learner from Cubao Elementary School, got a score of 100% in the 2015 ALS A&E Test. Graduates of Cebuana Lhuillier’s ALS Program learn more other than academic learning, by means of livelihood, spiritual, and social education programs offered free for all out-of-school youth and adults.

Date Display: 9/18/2018 11:45 AM