Some 68,000 struggling and non-reader elementary learners, college students and parents have benefitted from the pilot implementation of the "Tara, Basa!" Tutoring Program, the Department of Social Welfare and Development reported on Tuesday, 12 December.

"After 20 reading and Nanay-Tatay sessions, the DSWD, through the help of our trained college students, has assisted a total of 31,234 struggling and non-reader elementary learners and another 31,207 parents and guardians," DSWD Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs Irene B. Dumlao said.

Through the program, elementary students underwent reading sessions while their parents and guardians were capacitated to become "Nanay-Tatay teachers" based on the design of the DSWD's tutoring program.

Parents and guardians received cash aid worth P235 per day for 20 days by rendering assistance in preparing the needs of their children for learning and reading sessions, assisting them in their after-reading session assignments and attending parent effectiveness sessions among other related activities.

Dumlao, who is also the data privacy officer and the agency's co-spokesperson, pointed out that through the tutoring program, the agency has served some 6,101 2nd to 4th-year college students from select state universities and colleges as well as local government-run universities in the NCR, belonging to low-income families.

These students were trained to become tutors and youth development workers. The student-tutors hold reading sessions for struggling and non-reader elementary learners while the YDWs conduct Nanay-Tatay sessions for parents and guardians of the grade school beneficiaries of the program.

In exchange for rendering tutoring and learning sessions, tutors and YDWS received cash-for-work amounting to P610 per session.

The DSWD reported on Thursday that the Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program will be expanded outside the National Capital Region in 2024.

"With the remarkable results of the Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment and Quick English Reading Assessment conducted by the Department of Education that showed improvement in children's reading abilities, the DSWD will bring the tutoring program in some cities and provinces outside Metro Manila," Dumlao said.

The Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program is the reformatted educational assistance of the DSWD that aims to equip college students to serve as tutors to poor and non- or struggling readers in elementary and as youth development workers to conduct Nanay-Tatay sessions.