SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian again urged the government to implement learning recovery programs that will mitigate the effects of the Covid19 pandemic and the prolonged lack of face-to-face classes.

Gatchalian warned that the failure to address learning loss will lead to a deepening of economic scars.

“Bagama’t ang pagbabalik ng face-to-face classes ay mahalagang hakbang sa pagbabalik-normal ng ating sektor ng edukasyon, kailangan pa rin nating magpatupad ng mga programa upang tugunan ang mas malalim pang naging pinsala ng pandemya, lalo na sa kakayahan at kaalaman ng ating mga mag-aaral,” the chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education said.

Based on the World Bank’s simulation analysis of learning losses, the learning adjusted years of schooling will decrease from 7.5 years to around six years.

This means that 12 years of basic education will only be equivalent to around six years of effective schooling because of the pandemic.

The National Economic and Development Authority’s revised estimates showed that the Philippine economy will lose P10.1 trillion in the next 40 years because of the suspension of in-person classes.

The World Bank estimated that learning poverty as of June 2022 in the Philippines was 90.9 percent.

To avert the effects of the Covid19 pandemic, Gatchalian proposed the establishment of a national learning intervention program, known as the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning or ARAL Program.

The ARAL Program will prioritize reading and numeracy. It will focus on essential learning competencies in Language and Mathematics for Grades 1 to 10, and Science for Grades 3 to 10.