DSWD program trains college students to teach elementary school kids how to read

More than 3,000 students from select state universities and colleges have been trained to teach elementary learners how to read under the Department of Social Welfare and Development's "Tara, Basa!" program, the DSWD said. 

In a statement on Wednesday, the department said that 3,881 college students—from sophomores to seniors—have so far been far trained as tutors and youth development workers. 

“Under the Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program, college students will be engaged as tutors and youth development workers (YDWs). Student-tutors will hold reading sessions for struggling and non-reader elementary learners while the YDWs will conduct Nanay-Tatay teacher sessions for parents and guardians of the grade school program beneficiaries,” said DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao.

The agency added that it is targeting 85,213 elementary students from seven regions for the program. 

“We are done with the pilot testing and saw remarkable results among the beneficiaries. For this year, we have expanded the program and partnered with the different local government units in Regions 3 (Central Luzon), 7 (Central Visayas), 8 (Eastern Visayas), 10 (Northern Mindanao), 12 (SOCCSKSARGEN), CALABARZON, and National Capital Region,” said Dumlao. 

School supplies such as crayons, pencils, notebooks, pencils, and erasers will be provided as well to the learners, the DSWD said. 

Further, the DSWD said that parents and guardians of the elementary learners will receive cash aid if they attend the Nanay-Tatay teacher sessions, which teaches them to continue the tutoring program even at their homes.

The Tara, Basa! program is a reformatted educational assistance by the DSWD that aims to improve the reading comprehension of elementary students. 

In December 2023, a study by the Programme for International Student Assessment showed that Filipino learners continue to lag in mathematics and reading comprehension as the country ranked as the sixth lowest among the 81 countries and economies who participated in the study. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/BM, GMA Integrated News