AID FOR SLOW READERS. Some of the learning materials donated on Thursday (Nov. 30, 2023) by the Latter-day Saint Charities for more than 5,000 struggling readers in Tacloban City. These materials will be used by volunteer tutors to improve reading comprehension. (PNA photo by Sarwell Meniano)
TACLOBAN CITY – More than 5,000 struggling readers enrolled in 56 public elementary and secondary schools will be covered by a school-based tutorial project through a partnership between the Department of Education (DepEd) and Latter-day Saint (LDS) Charities.
Officials of 56 schools in the city received on Thursday the donated materials, such as laminators, laminating films, tutorial cards, individual whiteboards, markers, pencils, notebooks, tubs, worksheets, handbooks, and flash drives.
“We extend our sincere gratitude to LDS Charities for providing school-based tutorial materials. These resources are anticipated to benefit 56 schools, catering specifically to 79 identified non-readers and 5,209 struggling readers,” DepEd Tacloban city division information officer Nilo Eder said.
“We are confident that these materials will significantly contribute to the division's ongoing efforts in addressing learning gaps exacerbated by the two-year closure of schools due to the Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic,” Eder added.
LDS Charities, the humanitarian arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is eyeing to partner with more DepEd field offices in the country to address learning gaps.
Abenir Pajaro, a senior church official tasked to handle the humanitarian response in the country, said the school-based tutorial is a replication of the partnership between the education department and the church in Sarangani province that began in 2018.
“The fund is the donation from church members as we recognize challenges in reading comprehension in the Philippines. The DepEd here in Tacloban signified their interest and we shared them some materials that they could use to improve (the) reading of learners,” Pajaro said.
Designed by the Governor's Commission on Education of Sarangani and implemented by the provincial education office, the initiative mobilizes volunteer student tutors from Grade 6 onwards as mentors for struggling students in lower grades.
The project has improved the reading performance by 50 percent in just a few months in pilot campuses.
This year, LDS Charities donated learning materials to support tutorials in Puerto Princesa, Palawan; Olongapo City, Zambales; Angono, Rizal; Catarman, Northern Samar; Tacloban City; and Ormoc City, Leyte.
The Philippines scored the lowest in reading comprehension in the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment among 79 participating countries and economies. (PNA)
