The government should improve the reading proficiency of Filipino learners to address the country’s education crisis. 

Senator Win Gatchalian stressed this amid the observance of National Reading Month this November as he pushed for the institutionalization of Senate Bill 475, or the National Reading Month Act, which seeks the conduct of reading activities to inculcate the culture of reading among basic education learners and their communities.

Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education, cited the relevance of the signing of the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program Act, also known as Republic Act 12028. 

Amid the enactment of the law, Gatchalian said he is counting on the rollout of well-systematized tutorial sessions and well-organized intervention plans to boost literacy and improve reading proficiency among learners.

RA 12028, which Gatchalian authored and sponsored, establishes the ARAL Program to provide a national learning intervention program that will ensure mastery of essential competencies and make up for learning loss.

The ARAL Program covers essential learning competencies under the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum, specifically reading and mathematics for Grades 1 to 10, and science for Grades 3 to 10. 

It also aims to strengthen kindergarten learners' literacy and numeracy competencies to build on their foundational skills.

Gatchalian noted the previous results of international large-scale assessments, which highlight the urgency of improving learners' reading proficiency.

Results of the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed that the Philippines placed 76th out of 81 countries when it comes to reading. 

Meanwhile, results of the triennial assessment also revealed that 76 percent of the country's 15-year-old learners have not achieved the minimum proficiency in reading.