Iloilo province is gaining ground in addressing literacy and numeracy performance, according to the Department of Education Schools Division of Iloilo.

During the Provincial Education Summit (PES) on Friday, Iloilo Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Ernesto Servillon Jr. said more than 450 of the 1,172 schools in Iloilo province have zero non-readers.

The improved performance was attributed to the enhanced “Tib-ong Bumulutho” (Advancing Learners) program, a package of interventions, focusing on reading and numeracy remediation activities, hiring of remedial teachers to include capacity building, and implementation of contextualized district/municipal initiatives on reading and numeracy.

“We have a dramatic increase in the performance of our learners in Key Stage 1, that is, from Kindergarten to Grade 3,” he said

He said that before the intervention, 26.42 percent of learners in Key Stage 1 were at the frustration level.

The figure dropped to 7.71 percent, showing that as of April 2024, 92.29 percent of the learners are grade-level ready.

He added that 82.06 percent of the Key Stage 2 or Grades 4 to 6 are above or grade level ready.

“Intermediate grades may require additional targeted strategies because we saw that after the implementation of beginner reading activities in the Key Stage 1, we need now to transition to developmental reading in Key Stage 2 and 3,” he explained.

He added that they wanted to achieve 90 percent or more in efficiency or mastery in Key Stage 2.

The results further showed that for Key Stage 3 or Grades 7 to 10, some 76.02 percent are at the instructional or independent level.

“This is the percentage of learners who can read, write and comprehend,” he said.

In terms of numeracy, Servillon presented an 8.42 percent overall decrease in non-numerates.

A 29.21 percent reduction was noted among non-numerates in Grade 7, while a 2.77 percent reduction was noted in Grade 5 and 1.68 percent in Grade 6.

Further, 90 percent of Grades 1 to 6 met the numeracy benchmarks.

Education Undersecretary Peter Irving Corvera, in his message, said Iloilo has become a model and a laboratory of education.

He lauded the provincial government, under Governor Arthur Defensor Jr., for organizing the summit and wished for other provinces to also adopt the same.

“Your leadership, together with the support of the Department of Education, shows what can be achieved when local government, schools and communities join forces for education,” he said.

He added that the theme of the summit — Effective, Relevant, and Transformative Education in Iloilo — captured what Iloilo has been demonstrating.

“Iloilo has gone beyond compliance. You have become a model and a laboratory of education,” he said. (PNA)