A locally initiated program has contributed to the reduction in the number of non-readers in Northern Samar province, the local government reported Wednesday.

Gaudencio Aljibe Jr., Department of Education (DepEd) Northern Samar schools division superintendent, said in a statement that the Strategic Activities for Nortehanon Schools to Achieve “All Readers” (Sana All Readers) yielded positive results.

Citing results of the Philippines Informal Reading Inventory for the academic year 2022–2023, the number of non-readers for Filipino subjects went down from 3,272 to 352, while the number of independent readers increased from 13,906 to 26,005.

For English results for the same school year, the number of non-readers decreased to 321 from 2,029, while the number of independent readers increased from 11,993 to 17,979.

The Sana All Readers has employed 92 learning support aides (LSAs) deployed in different schools in the province to assist and guide learners in reading, writing, and learning number literacy.

“These LSAs have been guiding learners and households on the chosen learning delivery modalities, assisting teachers in lesson preparation and delivery, and monitoring and tracking learners’ progress and achievement,” Aljibe said.

The LSAs report directly to the teacher whom they are assisting, with the teacher still being the primary responsible school personnel in charge of the teaching-learning process.

Northern Samar Governor Edwin Ongchuan launched the program in May 2023 in response to the learning losses experienced by students during the pandemic. (PNA)