San Fernando City, La Union – A 69 year old examinee from Barangay Quintong, San Carlos City, Pangasinan successfully finished the Alternative Learning System Accreditation and Equivalency (ALS A&E) Test conducted by the Department of Education (DepEd) at the San Carlos City Central I School, Pangasinan on April 17, 2016.

Born on April 6, 1947, Mrs. Emilia “Meling” Infante Dias, Kasambahay, a mother of nine children said she took the exam to be given the opportunity to learn more.
Aling Meling explained that it is very hard for an Elementary Graduate like her to understand what she reads. She believes that passing the exam will give her the chance to gain more knowledge which she desires to share with her relatives and family members.

Meanwhile, a pregnant examinee labored while taking the exam held at the Ilocos Norte Agricultural College (INAC) in Pasuquin.
Mrs. Diana Rose Calventas Gonzales, 18, housewife, of Barangay Burayoc, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte delivered her first baby girl in the Rural Health Center of Pasuquin through the assistance of the Testing Regional and Division Monitors (TRDM).
The representatives of the DepEd, however, allowed her to finish the exam as she pleaded and relentlessly asked for it. She wanted to show her baby girl, as she grows, the importance of education.

The ALS A&E Test is designed to measure the competencies of those who have neither attended nor finished elementary or secondary education in the formal school system.
Passers are given a certificate/diploma, certifying their competencies and qualify them to enroll in secondary and post-secondary schools.