Sabah ALCs to address educational needs of undocumented Filipino children

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government, led by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), has signed an agreement with Sabah-based alternative learning centers (ALCs) to improve the basic education of undocumented Filipino children in Malaysia.

CFO Secretary Imelda Nicolas said the partnership with six ALCs aims to address the educational needs of undocumented Filipino children.

“It aims to improve the capacity of the ALCs to provide basic literacy to Filipino children who have no access to regular education through capacity-building activities; professional, technical and administrative advice and the provision of learning and instructional materials, among others,” Nicolas said.

The partner schools include the Learning Translation and Review Centre (Keningau), Persatuan Kebajikan Pendidikan Kanak-Kanak Miskin (The Society for Education of Underprivileged Children) (Lahad Datu and Semporna), Sekolah Sukarela Persatuan MAFIL-KOFA (Keningau), Stairway to Hope Learning Center (Kota Kinabalu), Stairway to Success Learning Center (Sandakan), and Vision of Hope Learning Center (Keningau).

The CFO, in collaboration with the Department of Education, is looking at holding a two-week training seminar for ALC teachers in the last quarter of this year.

Some 2,234 school-aged undocumented Filipino children are now enrolled in the ALCs, the CFO said.

“Undocumented children have extremely limited access to public education in Malaysia,” according to the CFO.

“Filipino children in Sabah are in a precarious situation and our initiatives are mere first steps in a long journey, but we are hopeful that with the dedication of all stakeholders, we will be able to transform through education the lives of these children for the better,” Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Eduardo Malaya said.

Other improvements were discussed during the official visit of Filipino officials last week, especially in the areas of “education assessment, technical and vocational training, information technology, science and mathematics,” he said.