Rep.

Lani Mercado-Revilla of the lone district of Bacoor, Cavite,

who has filed House Bill 6086 that would establish an open high
school system (OHSS) for underprivileged students, working
students, as well as out-of-school adults particularly in far-flung
areas.

Anchored on the Philosophy of the Batas Pambansa

232 or Education Act of 1982 - The state shall provide
the right of every individual to relevant quality education
regardless of sex, age, creed, socio-economic status,
physical and mental conditions, racial or ethnic origin,
political and others. the Open High School Program
had commenced in 1988.

OPEN HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM (OHSP): Reaching the Unschooled Wherever and Whenever.

About 6 million Filipino children of school going age drop out of school
altogether. This is the data that has emerged from a study carried out
by the Department of Education in Manila. 30% of the 91 million
inhabitants of the country are under 18: almost 25% of them never
finish their studies. (Asia News Feb. 8, 2014)
Such enormous rate had prompted the government specifically the
Department of Education to launch programs that would solution the
problem. Blaming poverty as the primary cause of such DepEd, then,
focus on the possibility of reaching those unschooled and under
schooled youth in their respective localities on the basis that would be
convenient for them.

What is OHSP?
OHSP is an acronym for Open High School Program. It is an alternative mode of
formal secondary education program run by the Bureau of Secondary Education
(BSE) of the Department of Education (DepEd) of the Republic of the Philippines.
It caters to learners who are unable to attend the regular class program due to
physical impairment, personal and family problem, financial difficulty, distance of
home to school, early pregnancy, early marriage, work and other justifiable and
legitimate reasons.
The program provides an opportunity for elementary school graduates, high school
drop-outs and successful examinees of the Philippine Education Placement Test
(PEPT) to complete secondary education in a purely distance learning mode. The
program provides printed self learning modules for students to use for their lessons
and classroom activities.

Why offer OHSP?

OHSP is intended for students who would otherwise be
unable to pursue formal secondary education due to the
rigid requirement of regular class schedules. It is an
alternative to attending regular classes but is not
designed to be beneficial to all students. Most students
may still learn best by attending the regular formal
secondary education.

Teacher-Adviser
Orients learners on their tasks and responsibilities as OHSP students;
Helps learners gain access to learning materials/resources;
Guides the learners in his/her self-directed learning tasks;
Tracks the progress of the learner;
Refers the learner to appropriate subject teacher for assistance when necessary; and
Maintains a complete record of the learners performance.

Subject-Teacher
Assists learners in identifying their learning needs; and in preparing their
self directed learning plan;
Provides time for consultation to address learning gaps;
Assesses learners progress and provide feedback;
Keeps a complete record of the learners performance; and
Provides the teacher-adviser with the results of the students performance.

Learner/Student

Accomplishes the learners profile form;

Identifies his learning needs and prepares his self directed learning plan;
Implements his self learning plan;
Consults with the teacher-adviser, subject teacher or any capable person in the community when
necessary;
Assesses his own progress and performance; and
Reports periodically to the teacher-adviser and subject teachers.
In support to the school management, the following DepEd administrative levels and other stakeholders
shall have the following responsibilities:

Division Office
Advocates the OHSP within the Division and encourages the
participation of private secondary schools;
Provides technical guidance through its Division DORP
Council;
Monitors the implementation of the OHSP; and
Conducts researches to improve the program.