Education stakeholders in Ilocos Norte vowed to help improve reading literacy among young learners after a reading inventory showed that some Grades 4 to 6 pupils experience difficulties in reading and comprehension.

“We really need help to address this problem and we should take a stand together,” Ilocos Norte Schools Division Superintendent Donato Balderas Jr. said in a media interview on Wednesday.

While still validating the number of young learners below the standard level of reading and comprehension, the Schools Division of Ilocos Norte is developing an integrated and inclusive reading initiative framework designed to improve reading ability.

At the Ilocos Norte provincial library, an online storytelling initiative is held for young learners so that they can have fun reading while listening to the stories being told.

Reading materials donated by local government units and partner organizations were also turned over to different primary schools in the province to make them more accessible to learners, while a 10-minute synchronized reading is implemented for learners, with participation from both teaching and non-teaching staff.

Several scholars of public and private organizations, meanwhile, have also taken the initiative to use interactive reading materials to teach struggling readers in their respective local communities.

“Reading takes you to places, can make you imagine things. And through your creativity while reading, you create your own story,” Aileen Rambaud, principal of Salanap Elementary School and a reading advocate, said.

According to the World Bank’s 2022 data on learning poverty, at least 90 percent of Filipino children aged 10 struggle to read or understand simple text. (PNA)