ILOILO – To improve the quality of basic education in Iloilo, the provincial government has partnered with local chief executives (LCEs), the Department of Education (DepEd), Synergia Foundation, and other stakeholders to craft interventions based on the problems faced by learners.
The provincial government, led by Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., yesterday conducted an Education Summit in partnership with the Schools Division Office-Iloilo headed by Superintendent Ernesto F. Servillon Jr. and Synergia, a foundation espousing reforms in education, headed by president and chief executive officer Milwida Guevara.
Defensor underscored the need to engage the community in addressing the learning gap of students, particularly on reading proficiency.
During the summit, Guevara presented the following: performance data of basic education learners in Iloilo in terms of participation rate and retention rate by grade level; result of the reading proficiency test conducted by the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) from Grades 4 to 11; percent of Grades 1 to 3 learners who are Grade Ready in Hiligaynon, Filipino and English based on the Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment Result (CRLA); and percent of Grades 1 to 3 learners who need a full refresher, among others.
In the reading proficiency test conducted by the Phil-IRI, 73.67 percent of 191,495 learners from Grades 4 to 11 of the school year 2022-2023 in the province were performing below average.
The Phil-IRI, an initiative of the Bureau of Learning Delivery of the 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 governor said the summit aimed to assess the situation and discuss interventions to help improve the quality of basic education for learners.
“We are committed to joining forces for interventions so that we can have remedial measures while addressing the fundamental issues,” said Defensor.
He added that education is not a devolved function of local government units (LGUs), but LCEs such as governors and mayors are game-changers in education.
“We have to assume the responsibility by treating education as a core function and responsibility, notwithstanding that it is not a devolved function,” added Defensor.
Interventions or measures
Defensor said it was learned during the summit that the interventions needed to improve learners’’numeracy and literacy could not be seen in the present education system.
That is why he aimed to involve the community in filling the gaps.
“We are committed to engaging the community to the fullest so that we can fill the gaps,” the governor said.
Community actors identified include parents or guardians and LCEs.
One of the interventions of the provincial government, together with the DepEd and Synergia, is to create remedial reading materials for parents to use with their children, as well as in schools.
The provincial government will hire more remedial teachers to help “frustrated readers” catch up. Defensor said they are coordinating with DepEd-Iloilo to determine how many remedial teachers are needed.
“The province is committed to helping the DepEd and the partnership hire more teachers so we can have that catch-up plan for our frustrated students,” said Defensor.
He may also ask for a supplemental budget this year to hasten the crafting and implementation of remedial interventions, to have 100 percent of learners in the province know how to read and write and fully understand what they are reading.
During the summit, Guevara also presented the programs that enhance learning performance based on the World Bank and World Development reports such as regular learning assessment, making teaching more effective, targeted training and repeated with follow-up coaching around a specific pedagogical technique, remedial education, and mobilizing everyone who has a stake in learning to improve reading./PN
