MANILA, Philippines – Hiniling ng Akbayan Partylist sa administrasyong Marcos na tugunan ang mababang “literacy rate” sa Pilipinas sa pamamagitan ng pagtatalaga ng “Army of Literacy Tutors.”
Ayon kay Akbayan Partylist Rep Perci Cendaña, nakakabahala ang 2024 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) report ng Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) na ang 18.9 million secondary education graduates ng bansa ay “functional illiterate” habang 5.8 million ang “basic illiterate.”
Inirekomenda ni Cendaña na para agad na matugunan ang problema ay kumuha ang gobyerno ng libo-libong mga college graduates bilang emergency literacy tutors na itatalaga sa mga lugar na may problema sa basic illiteracy at functional illiteracy.
“This hits two birds with one stone. We’re able to tackle the problem of illiteracy and at the same time provide short-term employment for our graduates,” ani Cendaña.
Sinabi naman ni Akbayan Partylist First Nominee Atty. Chel Diokno na mahina ang mga estudyante lalo sa Mindanao dahil sa kulang na tulong ng gobyerno.
“The findings of the PSA FLEMMS are both alarming and deeply troubling. This crisis reflects decades of neglect, inequality, and systemic failure to invest in basic education, particularly in far-flung and conflict-affected areas,” ani Diokno.
Para kay Diokno, ang paglalaan ng pondo ang unang hakbang na dapat gawin, inirekomenda nito na ang 6% Gross Domestic Product ng bansa ay ilaan sa edukasyon.
“We must put education as the top priority if we want to solve this crisis. The government cannot do this alone. It demands a whole-of-nation approach to address this, with the Department of Education, local governments, civil society, the private sector, and communities working together to solve this matter urgently,” pagtatapos pa ni Diokno. Gail Mendoza
