The Department of Education (DepEd) will launch an expanded set of summer learning interventions from 6 May to 3 June to support millions of students who remain at risk of falling behind in foundational skills.

The programs aim to help students regain foundational skills in reading, mathematics and other subjects ahead of the next school year. DepEd said the initiative is part of its continuing effort to address learning gaps that widened in recent years.

“Tungkulin nating siguruhin na ang bawat mag-aaral ay may sapat na suporta. Narito ang DepEd para alalayan ang ating mga mag-aaral na mapaghusay ang kanilang kaalaman,” Angara said. 

The Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) program is the primary component of the summer effort, targeting around 3.7 million incoming Grades 2 to 11 learners for reading and mathematics catch-up sessions. 

DepEd will also conduct a Senior High School Remediation program for an estimated 2.1 million incoming Grade 12 students to reinforce key competencies in English, Filipino and Mathematics. 

Another intervention, the Summer Academic Remedial Program, is expected to support approximately 141,000 learners who did not meet requirements in one or two learning areas.

DepEd said assessment data point to significant progress in ongoing recovery efforts. Comparisons between Beginning-of-School-Year and End-of-School-Year assessments show literacy improvements averaging 33 percentage points for Grades 1 to 3; 16 percentage points for Grades 4 to 6; and 28 percentage points for Grades 7 to 10. 

To facilitate the nationwide rollout, DepEd is mobilizing roughly 607,000 teachers and volunteer tutors. 

The summer programs will also provide teaching and learning resources, incentives for educators, and key health services such as vision and hearing screenings and free meals to address physical barriers that hinder learning.

Angara stressed that cooperation between schools and households remains essential to the program’s success. 

“Nananawagan tayo sa ating mga magulang at guro na magkaisa sa mahalagang adhikaing ito. Ang ating pagtutulungan ang magsisilbing matibay na pundasyon upang maging matagumpay ang balik-eskwela ng ating mga kabataan,” he said.