Andrie Hans Jones 

The Department of Education (DepEd) is intensifying its interventions to strengthen foundational learning from Kindergarten to Grade 3 in response to what it calls a ‘real and widespread learning crisis' in the country’s education system.

Photo Courtesy of Jacob Maentz.

In a DZMM interview on June 21, DepEd Assistant Secretary for Strategic Management Roger Masapol acknowledged recent assessments showing that many Filipino students are falling behind in basic competencies, particularly in reading and mathematics.

“We saw the results of the international large-scale assessment, like PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and SEA-PLM (Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics). There is a real problem with literacy, especially in our early graders, the Kinder to Grade 3. This is being addressed by Secretary (Sonny Angara) and the entire department to improve the literacy of our students,” Masapol said.

Masapol’s remarks came after UNICEF Education chief Akihiro Fushimi referenced a 2019 Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics report, which found that 90 percent of Grade 5  Filipino students were unable to read at their expected levels, and 83 percent struggled with basic mathematics skills. 

Fushimi also noted that learning gaps were further worsened by the pandemic and widened nationwide, with the most severe impact in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). 

In the 2022 PISA results, Filipino learners ranked 77th out of 81 countries, performing below the global average in mathematics, reading, and science.

Masapol said the department will focus its interventions on Key Stage 1, covering Kindergarten to Grade 3, with strong support from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“With the help of our President, we will focus on foundational learning, meaning from Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) to Grade 3, will center our interventions, and we will increase our budget on key stage 1, the K to 3 basic education,” Masapol noted.

The Marcos administration has allotted over 793 billion pesos to DepEd for 2024, marking a 3.99 percent increase from the previous year.

Despite this, the country still falls short of the UNESCO-recommended benchmark of 4 percent to 6 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for education spending, averaging only 3.2 percent over the past decade, according to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II).

To further address the literacy gap, RA 12028 or the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program will roll out this year, offering free tutorials to help around three million functionally illiterate students identified in DepEd’s rapid assessment.

“These are the students with literacy problems. We will provide intervention. We also revised our curriculum and lessened the subjects and increased our teachers,” Masapol added.