ILOILO – To address learners’ poor reading proficiency, the provincial government will hold an education summit this July.
Some 141,080 learners — 73 percent of 191,495 learners from Grades 4 to 11 of school year 2022-2023 — are performing below the average, based on data received by the Schools Division Office-Iloilo on the reading proficiency test conducted by the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI).
“We want to meet the problem head-on together with our partners,” Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. told members of the media.
The Phil-IRI, an initiative of the Bureau of Learning Delivery of the Department of Education (DepEd), is an informal reading inventory composed of graded passages designed to determine the individual student’s performance in oral reading, silent reading and listening comprehension in both English and Filipino.
These three types of assessments aim to determine the student’s independent, instructional and frustration levels. The data from these measures could be used to design or adjust classroom, small group or individualized instruction to fit the student’s needs and abilities.
The education summit, which aims to come up with a reading program on the problem presented, will be headed by Provincial Administrator Raul Banias together with non-government organization (NGO) Synergia, DepEd-Iloilo, and other stakeholders.
“We want to have a catch-up plan. And under our career guidance and counseling program, we will give them direction, kon sin-o man ang mga buloligan sa problema nga ini (to determine which students needed help). Two things: catch-up and direction considering their [learners] current situation,” added Defensor..
The education summit is a measure of the provincial government under Defensor to achieve its development trust, MorProGRess Iloilo, or the Movement for a Robust, Progressive, Globally Competitive, and Resilient Province of Iloilo.
Among those expected to attend the education summit are the mayors, members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, district supervisors, key officials from DepEd Region 6 and DepEd-Iloilo, and NGO partners./PN
