SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian has refiled a bill that seeks to institute a nationwide learning recovery program to address the impact of prolonged school closures because of the Covid19 pandemic.

The Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning or ARAL Program Act or Senate Bill 150 is one of Gatchalian’s top 10 priority measures.

“Upang tuloy-tuloy na makabangon ang sektor ng edukasyon mula sa pinsalang dulot ng pandemya, kailangan nating magpatupad ng malawakang programa para sa learning recovery. Titiyakin nating matututukan natin ang pangangailangan ng ating mga mag-aaral upang hindi sila mapag-iwanan pagdating sa kanilang kaalaman,” Gatchalian said.

The ARAL program, which will include well-systematized tutorial sessions and well-designed remediation plans, is his proposed national core strategy to allow learners to catch up with the rest of the world despite their learning loss.

It seeks to ensure that learners will have optimal instructional time to master essential competencies and make up for learning loss.

The proposed program targets learners who did not enroll for School Year 2020-2021, those who lag academically and are at and marginally above the minimum level of mastery required in Language, Mathematics and Science.

The ARAL program will also prioritize Reading to develop the critical and analytical thinking skills of learners.

For Kindergarten learners, the ARAL program will focus on building foundational competencies aimed at strengthening their literacy and numeracy.

Teachers and para-teachers who will serve as tutors under the ARAL program will receive proper remuneration.

Tertiary level students who will volunteer as tutors for a period of two semesters shall be deemed to have completed the Literacy Training Service under the National Service Training Program.