youth, and (iii) labor market regulations and policies improved to the benefit of young people.107 Department of Education (DepEd) 42. The Department of Education (DepEd) formulates, implements, and coordinates policies, plans, programs, and projects for formal and nonformal basic education.108 It oversees and supervises all elementary and secondary education institutions, including alternative learning systems, both public and private; and provides for the establishment and maintenance of a complete, adequate, and integrated system of basic education relevant to the goals of national development.109 43. One of DepEd’s programs in line with the K to 12 Program is the Senior High School Career Guidance Program and Early Registration. It aims to guide Grade 10 students/SHS entrants in making informed decisions regarding their choices of SHS track in view of the SHS Early Registration.110 The program promotes awareness of the importance of choosing a career that suits the learners’ skills and interests that match the available resources and needs of society.111 Included in the set of guidelines established by the DepEd for conducting the SHS Career Guidance Program (CGP) is the Grade 10 Career Manual, which the class adviser will deliver during the weekly Homeroom Guidance. This manual contains three modules: (i) Embarking on a Journey of Self Awareness, (ii) Examining the Destinations, and (iii) Charting Your Own Course.112 44. DepEd has also established the Alternative Learning System (ALS), a parallel learning system in the Philippines that provides a practical option to the existing formal instruction and includes both the non-formal and informal sources of knowledge and skills.113 The department implements two major programs on ALS through the Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS): the Basic Literacy Program and the Continuing Education Program – Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E).114 Both programs are modular and flexible. Unlike formal education, ALS non-formal education happens outside the classroom, is community-based, and is usually conducted at community learning centers, barangay multi-purpose halls, libraries, or at home, managed by ALS learning facilitators, such as mobile teachers, district ALS Coordinators, instructional managers at an agreed schedule and venue between the learners and facilitators.115 45. In 2016, the ALS Program began undergoing reforms to strengthen, intensify, and expand its implementation.116 After three years of 107 Id. Department of Education, Our Mandate, available at https://www.deped.gov.ph/about-deped/vision-mission-corevalues-and-mandate/ (last accessed June 21, 2022). 109 Id. 110 Department of Education, Senior High School Career Guidance Program and Early Registration, DepEd Order No. 41, s. 2015 (Aug. 28, 2015). 111 Id. 112 Id. 113 Department of Education, About Alternative Learning System, available at https://www.deped.gov.ph/k-to-12/inclusiveeducation/about-alternative-learning-system/ (last accessed May 26, 2022) 114 Id. 115 Id. 116 Department of Education, About the Program: ALS 2.0, available at https://www.deped.gov.ph/aboutals/#:~:text=ALS%202.0,pathways%20to%20complete%20basic%20education (las accessed May 26, 2022). 108 28