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Gatchalian: Education recovery a must as global Covid-19 emergency ends
Philippines
National
Gatchalian: Education recovery a must as global Covid-19 emergency ends
Gatchalian: Education recovery a must as global Covid-19 emergency ends
Published May 12, 2023 05:01 am
Now that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the Philippine government should now focus on the recovery of the education sector which is one of the hardest hit during the pandemic.
In this regard, Gatchalian pressed for the passage and implementation of the The Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program Act or Senate Bill No. 1604, which he said can help the government’s learning recovery program be achieved.
Senate Bill No. 1604 was approved on third and final reading by the Senate last March.
The proposed program, he said, aims to help learners master essential learning competencies and make up for learning loss.
Under the ARAL Program, learners will have access to well-systematized tutorial sessions and well-designed intervention plans.
“Bagama’t nalagpasan na natin ang pinakamalalang yugto ng pandemya ng COVID-19, patuloy nating dapat tugunan ang pinsalang dinulot nito, lalo na sa sektor ng edukasyon (Although we have passed the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we must continue to address the damage it has caused, especially in the education sector),” said Gatchalian, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.
Kailangan nating magpatupad ng mga programa para makahabol ang ating mga mag-aaral sa kanilang pagkatuto. Kailangan din nating tiyakin na magiging mas matatag ang sektor ng edukasyon sakaling humarap tayong muli sa malawakang krisis (We need to implement programs for our students to catch up with their learning. We also need to make sure that the education sector will be more stable in case we face another widespread crisis),” he said.
Even the UNESCO, he said noted that the Philippines has the longest pandemic school closures in the world.
The World Bank also estimates that learning poverty in the Philippines is at 90.9 percent as of June 2022, which means that nine out of 10 kids aged 10 in the Philippines cannot read or understand a simple story.
In this regard, Gatchalian pressed for the passage and implementation of the The Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program Act or Senate Bill No. 1604, which he said can help the government’s learning recovery program be achieved.
Senate Bill No. 1604 was approved on third and final reading by the Senate last March.
The proposed program, he said, aims to help learners master essential learning competencies and make up for learning loss.
Under the ARAL Program, learners will have access to well-systematized tutorial sessions and well-designed intervention plans.
“Bagama’t nalagpasan na natin ang pinakamalalang yugto ng pandemya ng COVID-19, patuloy nating dapat tugunan ang pinsalang dinulot nito, lalo na sa sektor ng edukasyon (Although we have passed the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we must continue to address the damage it has caused, especially in the education sector),” said Gatchalian, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.
Kailangan nating magpatupad ng mga programa para makahabol ang ating mga mag-aaral sa kanilang pagkatuto. Kailangan din nating tiyakin na magiging mas matatag ang sektor ng edukasyon sakaling humarap tayong muli sa malawakang krisis (We need to implement programs for our students to catch up with their learning. We also need to make sure that the education sector will be more stable in case we face another widespread crisis),” he said.
Even the UNESCO, he said noted that the Philippines has the longest pandemic school closures in the world.
The World Bank also estimates that learning poverty in the Philippines is at 90.9 percent as of June 2022, which means that nine out of 10 kids aged 10 in the Philippines cannot read or understand a simple story.