The number of struggling readers in public schools has declined since the start of the school year, the Department of Education reported yesterday. Officials credit the improvement to the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program.
The Department of Education announced a drop in the number of struggling readers in public schools since the school year began. This progress stems from the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program, with mid-year assessments showing a 96 percent submission rate as of January 5.
Reading readiness improved by an average of five points for students in Grades 3 to 6, while those in Grades 7 to 10 saw gains of six to nine points. These results mean that about 3.42 million learners in Grades 3-6 and 1.72 million in Grades 7-10 are now closer to grade-level proficiency in reading.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara credited the advances to structured remediation, focused tutorial sessions, and regular monitoring under the ARAL Program. He stated that these interventions will expand and standardize once the program receives full funding in 2026.
On Monday, the Marcos administration approved P8.93 billion for ARAL in the 2026 national budget, the first time it will be fully funded since becoming law. With this, DepEd aims to engage over 440,000 tutors nationwide, including volunteers and non-DepEd personnel.