The Department of Education (DepEd) has revealed a notable decrease of 49,666 in the number of “low-emerging readers” in the country.

The agency applauded the improvement, attributing the progress to programs such as the Learning Recovery Program (LRP) and Bawat Bata Makakabasa Program (BBMP), which equipped third-grade readers with necessary literacy skills over the summer.

According to the data, the LRP helped 50,000 students in total, while BBMP assisted 42,000. In Northern Mindanao, proficient readers rose significantly: from 637 to 6,588 in Grade 1 for Mother Tongue; from 719 to 6,398 in Grade 2 for Filipino; and from 539 to 6,703 and 355 to 5,100 in Grade 4 for Filipino and English, respectively.