The Department of Education in the Negros Island Region will prioritize literacy and numeracy in public schools to improve learners’ ability to read and write, an official said on Monday.
Dr. Ramir Uytico, DepEd-NIR director, said that beyond the regular preparation for a seamless opening of classes for the school year 2025-2026, this year’s “Brigada Eskwela” highlights the need for students and teachers to tackle widespread illiteracy.
In an interview after leading the joint DepEd-NIR and DepEd Negros Oriental kickoff of Brigada Eskwela at the Amlan National High School in Amlan, Negros Oriental, Uytico noted that the literacy and numeracy performance of learners in the Philippines is “ranked at the bottom” based on the Program for International Student Assessment.
“So it is part of the efforts of the Negros Island Region to eradicate illiteracy and to be of help to the learners,” he said.
Uytico added that literacy and numeracy are “at the top of the 10 priority initiatives, programs, and projects in the region.”
“All the schools in the Negros Island Region are to come up with a school improvement plan that focuses on literacy and numeracy. And we also want to level up our assessment [and] evaluation so that we can get the real picture of the performance of our learners,” the DepEd-NIR head said.
Uytico said this will help address the specific concerns of the region by coming up with initiatives and interventions that are suitable for the NIR.
A professional development program for teachers is part of the roadmap to equip them with the knowledge, attitude, and skills required to address illiteracy concerns at the local level, the official added.
The School Heads Academy will also be implemented so that all these programs and projects will be properly managed by the school heads, he added.
Meanwhile, Dr. Neri Ojastro, DepEd Negros Oriental Schools Division superintendent, emphasized the role and responsibility of everyone in the community in ensuring that the learners will become proficient in their literacy and numeracy skills.
“That is why the presence of the stakeholders now is a manifestation that we all understood and we all are accepting the challenge of molding our children,” he said.
Uytico led officials from the DepEd, the Department of Health, the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Coast Guard, the local government unit, and private partners in a symbolic kickoff ceremony and the signing of a pledge of commitment.
In the same activity, private partners donated cleaning materials, paint, electric fans, and other items, while the National Teachers & Employees Cooperative Bank handed over a check worth P650,000 to the DepEd-NIR.
The activity also included the launching of a Literacy & Numeracy Center, where books and other reading materials were donated by Lampara Publishing House.
The center serves as a venue for slow learners to improve their reading and writing skills, Uytico said, adding that he is hoping to see other schools coming up with the same facility.
The theme for this year’s Brigada Eskwela was Sama-sama para sa Bayang Bumabasa (All Together for a Country that Reads). (Judy F. Partlow)
