Section 4. Definition of Terms. — For purposes of this Act, the terms or phrases used shall mean or be understood as follows:

1. Alternative Learning System — is a parallel learning system to provide a viable alternative to the existing formal education instruction. It encompasses both the non-formal and informal sources of knowledge and skills;

2. Basic Education — is the education intended to meet basic learning needs which lays the foundation on which subsequent learning can be based. It encompasses early childhood, elementary and high school education as well as alternative learning systems for out-of-school youth and adult learners and includes education for those with special needs;

3. Cluster of Schools — is a group of schools which are geographically contiguous and brought together to improve the learning outcomes;

4. Formal Education — is the systematic and deliberate process of hierarchically structured and sequential learning corresponding to the general concept of elementary and secondary level of schooling. At the end of each level, the learner needs a certification in order to enter or advance to the next level;

5. Informal Education — is a lifelong process of learning by which every person acquires and accumulates knowledge, skills, attitudes and insights from daily experiences at home, at work, at play and from life itself;

6. Integrated Schools — is a school that offers a complete basic education in one school site and has unified instructional programs;

7. Learner — is any individual seeking basic literacy skills and functional life skills or support services for the improvement of the quality of his/her life;

8. Learning Center — is a physical space to house learning resources and facilities of a learning program for out-of-school youth and adults. It is a venue for face-to-face learning activities and other learning opportunities for community development and improvement of the people's quality of life;

9. Learning Facilitator — is the key-learning support person who is responsible for supervising/facilitating the learning process and activities of the learner;

10. Non-Formal Education — is any organized, systematic educational activity carried outside the framework of the formal system to provide selected types of learning to a segment of the population;

11. Quality Education — is the appropriateness, relevance and excellence of the education given to meet the needs and aspirations of an individual and society;

12. School — is an educational institution, private and public, undertaking educational operation with a specific age-group of pupils or students pursuing defined studies at defined levels, receiving instruction from teachers, usually located in a building or a group of buildings in a particular physical or cyber site; and

13. School Head — is a person responsible for the administrative and instructional supervision of the school or cluster of schools.