‘7 to 7’ Iloilo reading programs boost literacy

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

Iloilo provincial administrator Raul Banias said Wednesday, Dec. 17, that the provincial government’s education campaigns are showing measurable gains in reading proficiency and are now being prepared for expansion across Iloilo.

Banias said data from the province showed that seven out of 10 learners assessed are now able to read, matching the proportion of learners previously identified as nonreaders during a pre-assessment conducted two years ago.

He said the improvement was driven by the proof of concept, or POC, reading program implemented in 11 municipalities.

Under the POC program, basic education initiatives were localized, with mayors leading implementation in coordination with expanded local school boards.

Banias said the figures came from a post-assessment conducted after one year of implementation, with the results evaluated by the Philippine Institute of Development Studies.

“Two years ago when we conducted our first provincial education summit, data from the pre-assessment of our learners in the Grade 3 level is very depressing, because it was assessed that they were mostly nonreaders. Seven out of 10 were nonreaders,” Banias said.

“Our reading proficiency levels improved from a low seven out of 10, who were unable to read, that after one year, it’s seven out of 10 learners who were able to read,” he added.

The POC program is one of two flagship education initiatives of the Iloilo provincial government under Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., with the other being the Bulig Eskwela, or BES, program.

The BES program uses a different approach but similarly aims to improve reading competencies among public school learners.

It also targets improvements in school infrastructure and access to clean and safe water to help raise overall education quality.

Both programs were developed by the provincial government in partnership with the Department of Education’s Iloilo division.

With the monitored gains, Banias said the provincial government is preparing to roll out the POC and BES BASA reading programs to additional municipalities.

He said the focus on reading is expected to translate into better performance in other learning areas.

“We are just focusing on reading. As you know there are many pathways that we can improve on, math, English, but we’re concentrated on reading. We believe that those who know how to read will find learning challenges easier,” Banias said.

Banias cited teacher capacitation and the empowerment of local school boards as key factors behind the program’s success.

“We are seeing now that in a reading-centered program, it’s not important to hire additional teachers, but to just capacitate the regular teacher to be a reading teacher,” he said.

“We are conducting seminars about that. We have workbooks that the children can bring with them, where they can learn phonetics and to read,” he added.

He said local school boards play a crucial role in directing resources to literacy programs.

“Local school boards are very powerful local boards. They are the ones who manage, allocate, and determine where funds from the special education fund go to,” Banias said.

“Once you empower them, now they’re not just funding school buildings or sports programs. They are now starting to allocate funds for the reading programs. That’s what we’re after, showing that problems in education is not just about teachers. It’s a problem that should involve community, barangay officials, municipal officials, and the business sector,” he added.