As the country had lockdowns resulted to closure of schools, Philippines is now delivering learning face to face. Interventions were done in order to address the challenges in education caused by the pandemic. But despite of the interventions, Philippines is suffering from 'learning poverty'. As defined by the world bank, learning poverty means being unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10.

This is a difficult time since reading is an imperative factor of learners' development. According to the world bank, with RAPID Framework governments must make sure that education systems:

• Reach every child and keep them in school
• Assess learning levels regularly
• Prioritize teaching the fundamentals
• Increase the efficiency of instruction, including through catch-up learning
• Develop psychosocial health and well-being.

Partner quotes:

World Bank:

Jaime Saavedra, Global Director for Education, World Bank: “COVID-19 has devastated learning around the world, dramatically increasing the number of children living in Learning Poverty.

UNICEF:

Robert Jenkins, UNICEF Global Director of Education: “Getting children back into the classroom is just the first step – but if we stop there, we will rob millions of children of the chance to reach their full potential. Every child has a right not only to be in school, but to learn in school, acquiring the basic skills that are the foundation for higher learning and higher income levels someday – in turn supporting equitable development and sustainable growth. We need to reach every child, in every situation. We need to assess their learning level and help them master the basics, so they can move ahead as confident learners. And especially for children living through conflicts and crises, we need to support children’s learning by making sure they have the psychosocial support they need. We can’t let children’s learning become yet another casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

To address the gap in the Philippine education, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, seeks massive reform in DepEd’s ‘National Learning Recovery Program.

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