Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday disclosed that a record-high education budget for 2026 will provide the necessary resources to improve reading proficiency among Filipino students following dismal international test results.

The lawmaker’s remarks follow the release of the 2024 Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM), which revealed that 27 percent of Grade 5 students in the Philippines show “very low proficiency” in reading.

The study found these students struggle with basic tasks, such as matching words to pictures.

To recall, the Philippines ranked second to last among participating nations in reading, trailing Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar and Cambodia. Only 14 percent of Filipino students reached high proficiency in the subject.

The senator said a P1.3 trillion education budget approved during recent Bicameral Conference Committee meetings will serve as a “game-changer” for the school system.

A significant portion of the funding is directed at the country’s textbook shortage. The allocation for textbooks and instructional materials was increased to P19.5 billion, up from the P11.2 billion originally proposed in the National Expenditure Program.

According to the SEA-PLM study, 52 percent of Grade 5 students have only one reading textbook, while 42 percent are forced to share a book with at least one other classmate. Gatchalian said the new funding would ensure every learner has a complete set of books.

The budget also earmarks P3.3 billion for the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program. The funds will support 440,000 tutors and are expected to benefit approximately 6.7 million learners.