DepEd starts crafting learning recovery plan

The Department of Education (DepEd) is now crafting a learning recovery plan with the Philippines having one of the highest rates of “learning poverty” in the region according to the World Bank.

DepEd Region 9 Information Officer Dahlia Amante Paragas said that the department is looking at improving reading among young learners, following the shift to remote learning modes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Basic foundation talaga ‘yung reading ng bata. Mahirapan ang bata mag-understand, comprehension, ‘pag ka hindi siya marunong magbasa,” she said in Jamie Santos' report on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

“I think we are concentrating on that area, and all the rest will follow,” she added.

(Reading is a basic foundation. Children will have a hard time understanding and comprehending if they do not know how to read… I think we are concentrating on that area and all the rest will follow.)

This comes as the Philippines was among the countries with the highest rates of learning poverty in East Asia and the Pacific, as the World Bank found that nine out of 10 Filipino children struggle to read simple text by age 10.

The same report found that as much as 91% of Filipino children at the late primary age “are not proficient in reading,” with learning poverty higher for males than for females in the country.

The DepEd last week launched Oplan Balik Eskwela, in preparation for the resumption of face-to-face classes on Monday, August 22, following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agency has been coordinating with the Department of Health (DOH) to roll out mobile COVID-19 vaccinations and organize counseling sessions among unvaccinated learners in schools.

The latest report of the agency indicates that some 20,628,682 students enrolled for the school year 2022 to 2023 across the country. This includes 18.147 million in public schools and 2.411 million in private schools. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM, GMA News