With the resumption of face-to-face classes this school year, a group urged the government to ensure that learning recovery among affected learners would be an utmost priority.
“Learning recovery is our most urgent task with the reopening of face-to-face classes this year,” said Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) Executive Director Love Basillote.
Citing a recent World Bank report, PBEd said that the Philippines has the highest level of learning poverty in East Asia and the Pacific which jumped from 70 percent in 2019 to 91 percent this year.
“This means that nine out of 10 Filipino children aged 10 are still struggling to read simple texts,” PBEd reiterated.
Learning poverty refers to the combined share of out-of-school primary-aged children (schooling deprived) and pupils not meeting the minimum reading proficiency (learning deprived).
ARAL bill
To help curb learning poverty in the country, PBEd also expressed its support for a bill that aims to cut learning losses by hiring teachers and para-teachers as tutors for learners.
Under Senate Bill No. 150 or the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program Act of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, assigned tutors will conduct formative assessments on their students to provide timely feedback and effectively tailor their instruction to the students' unique learning needs.
Meanwhile, Rep. Roman Romulo of the lone district of Pasig City also filed House Bill No. 4240, a counterpart measure in the Lower Chamber that includes implementation of the program even during summer break.
“Legislation such as the ARAL bill will bring us closer to that goal,” Basillote said. “We hope that Congress will fast-track its passage in order to bridge the learning gaps that have been exacerbated by the pandemic,” she added.
Kiddie Learning Train
To help bridge learning gaps, PBEd also completed the Kiddie Learning Train (KLT) project in partnership with Accenture Philippines, Enuma, and the Department of Education (DepEd) Region 7.
The program sought to help 1,000 underperforming pupils from Kinder to Grade 3 improve in reading and math not only by providing them with tablets and gamified learning apps but also by enlisting volunteer tutors.
The KLT program was implemented in Metro Cebu from September 2021 to February of this year.
Results from the program showed that learners who attended tutorial sessions improved significantly on their post-test scores in numeracy and literacy by 14 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
Moreover, students who were previously lagging in class greatly improved their scores by as much as 69 percent in reading and 18 percent in math.
Basillote explained that KLT was designed based on “global evidence that coupling education technology with committed teachers or para-teachers and grouping students by their learning levels can improve learning outcomes.”
Given this, Basillote also expressed hope that both the public and private sectors can collaborate to continue the program model derived from the KLT as “this will contribute in solving the learning crisis.”
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