MANILA, Philippines- Naghain ng isang panukalang batas si Senador Win Gatchalian nitong Huwebes upang mahigpit na ipagbawal ang pagdadala ng cellphones at anumang uri ng gadgets sa loob ng klase ng lahat ng estudyante sa K-12.
Partikular na tinutukoy ni Gatchalian ang basic education mula sa kindergarten, elementarya, sekondarya at senior highschool sa lahat ng pribado at pampublikong paaralan.
Sinabi ni Gatchalian, chairman ng Senate committee on basic education, layunin ng panukala na palakasin ang interes ng kabataan sa pagbabasa matapos maobserbahan ng ilang education experts na bumagsak ang tantos sa pagbabasa sanhi ng internet at pagkakalat ng social media activities.
“I plan to push for two things, one is to push for the bill declaring the month of March as National Reading Month, to encourage the youth to read and buy books and for all institutions and agencies to help in motivating the youth to read,” ayon kay Gatchalian sa Kapihan sa Senado.
“And second, that is to ban the use of cellphones and other gadgets inside the classrooms,” dagdag niya.
“Because many of our young people are addicted the use of cellphones that they even use it inside the classrooms and within school hours,” giit ng senador.
“They waste the time looking at their cellphones, and their focus trained on social media,” wika pa niya.
Naunang inihain ni Gatchalian ang Senate Bill No. 475, na nagdedeklara sa buwan ng Nobyembre bilang National Reading Month, na gagawing taunan ang selebrasyon upang makalikha ng kultura ng pagbabasa upang masawata ang patuloy na low learner outcomes sa basic education as na ipinakikita sa resulta ng international standardized assessments partikular sa pagbasa.
“The 2018 PISA Results where the average score of 15-year-old Filipino students in Reading was 340 points – the lowest, together with the Dominican Republic, among the 79 participating countries,” ayon sa senador sa kanyang explanatory note sa panukala.
“The Philippines’ score in Reading was significantly lower than the OECD average of 487 points. Over 80 percent of students in the Philippines did not reach a minimum level of proficiency in Reading – one of the largest shares of low performers among all PISA-participating countries and economies,” patuloy niya.
Sa ilalim ng panukala, sinabi ni Gatchalian na pangungunahan ng Department of Education (DepEd) ang tungkulin na lumikha ng patakaran at gumawa ng strategic initiatives sa pagtataguyod ng pagbabasa hindi lamang para sa impormasyon at aliwan, kundi makakuha ng kaalaman, skills at karakter ang mag-aaaral.
“It is my fervent hope that this legislation will contribute in developing and inculcating a reading culture in every learner, and I earnestly seek the support of this Congress for its immediate passage,” ani Gatchalian. Ernie Reyes
