THE Department of Education yesterday said it will not stop the implementation of the Catch Up Fridays reading intervention program despite appeals made by several teachers’ groups.
Instead of suspending or stopping the implementation of the program which started last January 12, DepEd Assistant Secretary and deputy spokesperson Francis Cesar Bringas said the department will strive to boost its implementation, with inputs from the ground.
“We do not agree with some calls to suspend the Catch Up Fridays. Instead, we will further enhance its implementation,” Bringas said in a television interview.
However, Bringas acknowledged the need for adjustments to address the concerns raised by teachers and even the students.
“Definitely, there will be adjustments and we have feedback coming from our fields that we will address so as to further improve the implementation of Catch Up Fridays,” he added.
Among these, Bringas said, is the provision of additional reading materials to schools so that teachers need not shoulder the additional costs.
Earlier, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) and the Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC) urged the DepEd to halt or suspend and review the implementation of the intervention program, saying that teachers on the ground are bearing the brunt of additional workload in preparation for its implementation every Friday.
ACT said teachers have to make do with insufficient books and learning materials to make the program a success.
“Due to the lack or insufficiency of books or materials, teachers are forced to spend on photocopying reading materials,” the group said last week.
“Instead of regular classes during this time and preparing for upcoming exams, schools were transformed into Reading Hubs every Friday, with teachers solely focused on reading activities. Regular classes were suspended,” it added.
The TDC said Catch Up Fridays have brought more problems to teachers due to the financial burden it causes as they sometimes have to shell out their own money to buy booklets and other materials.
“It seems we need to review the implementation of the Catch Up Fridays. What we are saying in TDC is that we don’t need this Catch Up Fridays, with due respect to DepEd, and in particular the Curriculum and Teaching Strand,” TDC said.
The group said there is no urgent necessity for the DepEd to implement the programs in all public schools in the country.
In launching the program, Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte said there is a need for such intervention to address the learning gap of learners.
A joint report released in 2022 by the United Nations Children’s Fund, World Bank and the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization titled “Where We Are On Recovery” showed that less than 10 percent of Filipino kids can read simple text or comprehend a simple story.
Before the pandemic, the results of a study conducted by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed that Filipino students fared worst among more than 70 countries in terms of reading comprehension.
Duterte termed the results as “uncomfortable truths” that should prod all stakeholders in the education sector to word hard to address the findings.
