SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to ensure that learning recovery programs are cohesive, as it plans to implement an eight-week literacy and numeracy program aimed at improving learners’ performance.

DepEd is considering suspending the regular academic program to prioritize the eight-week initiative, which targets learners in Grades 1 to 3 and is set for the first quarter of School Year 2025-2026.

Additionally, a science program incorporating literacy and numeracy components for Grades 7 to 10 will be rolled out in the third quarter of this school year.

The science program aims to enhance both science scores and proficiency levels in literacy and numeracy, while preparing learners for the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which will focus on science.

Gatchalian highlighted that DepEd is already implementing the National Learning Recovery Program (NLRP), which includes the National Learning Camp as one of its sub-programs. However, the senator called for significant reforms to the NLRP.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) and the Senate Committee on Basic Education found that the voluntary nature of DepEd’s learning camps resulted in only 10% of learners in need of intervention attending the program. Moreover, only 50% of those requiring intervention participated in NLRP assessments.

Moving forward, Gatchalian suggested, “We should look at all these different programs, put them together, and make them cohesive. I fully support intensifying literacy and numeracy programs, as well as preparations for PISA. It is essential to improve learning outcomes, especially foundational skills like literacy and numeracy.”

The Eight-Week Literacy and Numeracy Program follows the model of DepEd’s Advancing Basic Education in the Philippines’ Learning Recovery Curriculum, which was piloted for Grades 1 to 3 in Regions V and VI.