Special reading sessions are now being arranged for struggling learners in Ilocos Norte province to improve their reading comprehension and numeracy skills.

In an interview on Wednesday, Valerie Gabriana Talamayan, information officer designate of the Schools Division of Ilocos Norte, said the Department of Education (DepEd) is prioritizing the implementation of the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program this school year.

The program provides targeted learning interventions for Filipino learners struggling to meet grade-level competencies, and aims to build foundational skills for kindergarten learners while enhancing literacy and numeracy competencies for Grades 1 to 10.

According to Talamayan, starting this week, struggling readers will be assessed per school and will undergo reading sessions on a fixed schedule.

“The schedule depends on the availability of a teacher, as long as it is two hours in a week. The reading sessions can be arranged on weekdays, vacant time, or weekends,” Talamayan told the Philippine News Agency.

She said various reading materials from DepEd Central Office will be used for the program.

The initiative seeks to address learning gaps following the result of the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) released by the Philippine Statistics Authority in April.

The survey showed that among individuals 5 years old and above, 6.9 percent or about 7 out of 100 cannot read and write or are classified as illiterate.

In the Ilocos Region, the 2024 FLEMMS results revealed that 89.6 percent or about 9 out of 10 individuals aged 5 years and above have basic literacy.

Ilocos Sur recorded the highest basic literacy rate among the provinces at 93.4 percent, followed by Ilocos Norte at 89.7 percent. The lowest basic literacy rate was observed in Pangasinan at 88.7 percent, followed by La Union at 89.2 percent.

To ensure that no child is left behind in the province, the PSA survey is now being validated to identify the struggling learners and provide necessary interventions.

Ilocos Norte Schools Division Superintendent Donato Balderas Jr., meanwhile, underscored the department’s “No Read, No Move” policy to ensure quality education for all.

“We are on the right track on our seriousness to the ‘No Read, No Move’ by Grade 3 or any grade level for that matter. Let us just make sure that we implement an effective School-Based Reading Program. If we adequately do our part and the learners still cannot read, then there is no other option but to retain the learners and not to move them any level higher,” Balderas said in a separate interview.

In his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said improving and enhancing the country’s education system remains a top priority of his administration. (PNA)