cdn mobile

DepEd, DSWD aim to teach 207K students to read in 2025

By: Jason Sigales - Inquirer.net | December 21,2024 - 09:33 PM

DepEd, DSWD aim to teach 207K students to read in 2025

Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian sign a memorandum of agreement for the “Tara, Basa!” (Let’s Read!) tutoring program at the DepEd Central Office in Pasig City on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. | DepEd photo

MANILA, Philippines — In a bid to boost literacy, the Departments of Education (DepEd) and Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are aiming to teach 207,000 students to read through the “Tara, Basa!” (Let’s Read!) program in 2025.

Officially launched last March, “Tara, Basa!” deploys college students to assist first- and second-grade public school students who are struggling to read.

In exchange for 20 tutoring sessions, college students in the program receive work experience and cash based on the regional minimum wage.

READ: DepEd-7: Parents should help develop students’ learning skills

DSWD said in a statement that “Tara, Basa!” benefited a total of 120,359 college students and elementary learners across Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Soccsksargen in 2024.

It did not provide a breakdown of the beneficiaries.

READ: DepEd-7 gears for the return of old school calendar year in 2025

The program also includes “Nanay-Tatay” (Mother-Father) learning sessions, equipping parents to better support their children’s education.

DepEd said on Saturday that it will aid the DSWD’s program by assisting with logistics, identifying beneficiaries, and capacity-building with the Ateneo Center for Educational Development. According to the DSWD, DepEd will also be responsible for selecting beneficiaries based on the National Assessment on Reading Comprehension and matching elementary students with tutors.

READ: New law to help struggling students in reading, math, science

For its part, the DSWD will lead in formulating the program, providing technical assistance in conducting capacity-building and payout activities, and designing the social and behavior change communication materials for the initiative.

The two departments formalized their partnership with a memorandum of agreement signed on Friday, Dec. 20, at the DepEd Central Office in Pasig City.

“Definitely, it will improve the delivery of services with learning and I think the interface with DSWD and DepEd will be very fruitful and productive for our children and young learners,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara said during the signing.

Meanwhile, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said, “That is what our goal is: to ease into that culture of not mendicancy but rather nation-building.”

“Tara, Basa!” was declared a flagship program of the national government by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last November.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

Read Next

Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.

TAGS: DepEd, DSWD, read, students
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.