Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
In the Philippines, the World Bank (WB) report titled “Fixing the Foundation: Teachers and Basic Education in East Asia and Pacific” attributed the country’s 91 percent learning poverty rate to deficient teaching skills. However, this perspective overlooks the real culprit: the Department of Education (DepEd).
The Impact of DepEd Policies on Reading Literacy
The WB derived the learning poverty rate from the 2019 Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM), which assessed Grade 5 students’ reading proficiency in English. Typically, countries introduce reading instruction in their primary language in Grade 1. Yet, the Philippines delays English reading competency until the second semester of Grade 2 under the K-12 curriculum. As a result, Grade 5 students may have only two years of English reading experience, impacting their performance on the SEA-PLM.
The Role of Mass Promotion in Learning Poverty
According to SEA-PLM results, 27 percent of Grade 5 students struggled to read, lacking foundational skills essential for proficient reading. Despite DepEd’s mandate that learners should master reading by the end of Grade 3, the reality is starkly different. DepEd’s practice of mass promotion, promoting ineligible students, including illiterates, contributes to this discrepancy.
Disparity Between Public and Private Schools
The prevalence of mass promotion contrasts with the situation in private schools, where reading literacy remains high despite less qualified teachers. Public schools attract more qualified teachers due to better compensation, while DepEd’s hiring standards ensure licensed teachers. In contrast, some private schools hire unlicensed teachers due to financial constraints.
DepEd’s Response and Its Limitations
Given these disparities, private schools fare better in reading literacy, suggesting deficient teaching skills alone do not explain learning poverty. Despite this, DepEd’s response to the reading crisis primarily targets public schools, neglecting private schools where mass promotion is less common.
