SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian stressed the need to roll out an education recovery program to mitigate the learning loss from the lack of face-to-face classes for two years because of the pandemic.

Gatchalian said the education sector was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, with the country having the longest school closure in the world.

“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,” the chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education said.

“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,” he added.

Gatchalian said the learning recovery program will be achieved with the passage and implementation of the proposed ARAL Program Act or Senate Bill 1604, which he authored and sponsored. The measure was approved on third and final reading last March.

The Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning or ARAL Program aims to help learners master essential learning competencies. Learners will have access to well-systematized tutorial sessions and well-designed intervention plans.

The World Bank estimates that learning poverty in the Philippines was at 90.9% as of June 2022. This means that nine out of ten kids aged 10 cannot read or understand a simple story.