The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7) had officially launched " Tara Basa!" tutoring program.

Assistant Secretary for Strategic Communications Romel Lopez said the DSWD would implement the tutoring program as part of the agency's recalibrated educational assistance in other regions after its successful pilot run in the National Capital Region (NCR) in 2023.

"Following the good feedback and success of our pilot run in Metro Manila, we are about to bring 'Tara, Basa!' program to more communities around the country," Lopez said.

DSWD-7 regional director Shalaine Marie Lucero told DAILY TRIBUNE that a memorandum of agreement (MOA) had already been jointly signed by DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, and State Universities and Colleges (SUC) president Dr. Daniel Ariaso Sr. of Cebu Normal University (CNU) .

"The MOA stipulates the duties and responsibilities of the stakeholders in ensuring the proper implementation of Tara, Basa! tutoring program in Cebu City. With this program, non- and struggling readers in elementary will benefit through the provision of reading sessions," Lopez cited.

Under the program, 2nd- to 4th-year college students will be deployed as tutors who will teach children beneficiaries to read.

Aside from these, their parents and guardians will also be given cash-for-work(CFW) in exchange for their attendance in "Nanay-Tatay" learning sessions and in assisting their children in preparing their needs for learning and reading and in their after- reading assignments.

"Tara, Basa!" is the reformatted educational assistance of the DSWD that creates an ecosystem of learning wherein college students will be capacitated and deployed as tutors to teach poor and non- or struggling readers in elementary and as Youth Development Workers (YDW) to conduct Nanay-Tatay sessions.

The Nanay-Tatay sessions provide parents or guardians with parenting guidance.