COMMISSIONERS of the Second Congressional Commission on Education or EDCOM 2 at the House of Representatives filed a measure urging the Department of Education to suspend the regular academic program for 8-12 weeks and implement an effective learning recovery program for K to 12 learners to ensure that they attain functional literacy and numeracy.

Representatives Roman Romulo and Jose Francisco Benitez filed House Resolution No. 1805 following the result of a World Bank study stating that 9 out of 10 Filipino children aged 10 are unable to read and understand a simple text appropriate for their age, further estimating a learning gap of 5.5 years.

“To say that these figures are alarming is an understatement. The Philippines consistently ranks among the lowest in international large-scale assessments, and we cannot just sit down and do business as usual. We need to urgently and strategically address the learning gap and ensure that our learners can achieve necessary academic standards,” Romulo said.

The House Resolution also urges conducting assessments for all learners before the start of the intervention program to determine the level of proficiency of each learner.

It further recommends assessing learners at the end of the program to ascertain if additional intervention is needed to help them achieve the required competencies for their grade level.

“We understand the intention of DepEd’s National Learning Recovery Program and Catch-Up Fridays but these seem to be insufficient to close the learning gaps of struggling learners. In EDCOM’s school visits and consultations, we have observed that learners are not only catching up for proficiencies of their current grade level but are also lacking the proficiencies of earlier grade levels. Remediation should therefore be continuous throughout the year. And remedial teaching should be targeted and differentiated according to varying learning needs of struggling learners,” Benitez added.