The Department of Education (DepEd) expressed its gratitude to partners and organizations and acknowledged their part in closing education gaps in the country.
“It is good to hear voices from those who believed the Department. Thank you for your initiatives,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said during the “Brigada Pagbasa” Partner's Convergence.
Briones said that the event aimed to provide a platform for the sharing of good practices.
“We need good news, we need success, we need hope, and we need to bolster our beliefs that there is something good in continuing education despite difficulties,” she added.
“Brigada Pagbasa” is an offshoot program of the “Brigada Eskwela” which is focused on promoting literacy and numeracy of learners amidst the crises faced by the education sector.
It is in collaboration with World Vision Development Foundation, Inc. and with various partners like E-net Philippines, which is composed of 100 organizations, EDUCO, Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc., Save the Children among others, with the unified purpose of delivering education for all.
Briones congratulated the organizers for the initiative in forming, leading, and conceptualizing the idea of “Brigada Pagbasa.”
“Hopefully, this movement will help synergize efforts and resources to address education-related challenges and also create opportunities for us to work together,” she added.
“Brigada Pagbasa” aims to cultivate a culture of reading among learners for them to love reading books, develop writing and reading skills, and build skills for expression.
The program is helping those learners who need further assistance in developing their literacy and numeracy skills which include the marginalized, excluded, and underprivileged children found in indigent communities and last-mile schools.
Meanwhile, Executive Director of World Vision Development Foundation, Inc. Rommel Fuerte said that through the partnership - with the guidance of the DepEd - “we are confident, despite of the pandemic, that our learners across the country will be able to learn better and grow up to become productive and responsible Filipinos.”
With over 17 partner organizations, the “Brigada Pagbasa” movement created numerous literacy programs like Go Bike, A-Z Food Literacy, and Hugpong sa Pagtuon taga Magallon that displayed the partners’ collective advocacy to teach literacy to Filipino learners.
The partners also took part in mobilization, teacher training, and event sponsorship of activities.
Likewise, DepEd Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs, External Partnerships and Project Management Service Tonisito M.C. Umali, Esq. also thanked the partners for the project.
“Hindi po namin ito kakayanin mag-isa. Dito po papasok ang konsepto ng pakikipag-ugnayan sa ating mga partners. Sa pamamagitan po nito, nagkaroon po tayo ng mga community learning facilitators at Brigada Pagbasa volunteers (We could not have do it alone. This is where the concept of cooperation with our partners comes in. Through this, we have community learning facilitators and Brigada Pagbasa volunteers),” Umali said.