Dagupan city: Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary for Operations Malcolm Garma has called for cooperation and convergence among government agencies and education stakeholders to address the literacy gap in the Ilocos Region. He made the call during Dagyaw 2025, a town hall gathering with national government agencies, civil society groups, and local stakeholders to address literacy concerns in the region, led by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, with service booths from public and private partners on Tuesday.
According to Philippines News Agency, Garma emphasized the necessity for data-driven targeted interventions for learners most in need, hence the collaboration with the Philippine Statistics Authority and other concerned agencies. He stressed the importance of training teachers with the support of school heads, local government units, other stakeholders, and parents. Garma highlighted the success of a recent literacy remediation program, which was a partnership among various stakeholders, noting that local government units provided fare for the parents and snacks to encourage their continued participation.
Garma underscored the necessity of improving basic literacy as a prerequisite to functional literacy. He cited that 82,835 Grade 4, 5, and 6 learners and 148,499 Grade 7, 8, and 9 learners in the Ilocos Region are at the frustration level, meaning they are two levels below their current grade level in terms of literacy.
The DepEd’s goal for this school year is to continue the remediation program through the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program in Reading (ARAL-Reading), which aims to provide timely, responsive, and effective support to learners who fall below expected reading proficiency levels, enabling them to catch up with grade-level expectations set by the DepEd. The agency also aims to strengthen parental involvement and improve sanitation and information and communication technology facilities in schools, in collaboration with local government units.
Garma noted that 97 percent of schools in the Ilocos Region have modest facilities for handwashing, and 91 percent have sufficient teachers and classrooms. However, he pointed out a lack of toilets in schools in the region. Additionally, they plan to manage teaching deployment for the ARAL program and provide incentives to teachers to encourage them to upgrade their teaching skills.
“The resounding message of Dagyaw is not just convergence and conversations. The central message is empathy. Everybody should be concerned,” Garma said.
