DepEd told: Stop Catch-Up Fridays; teachers feel brunt

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A GROUP of teachers yesterday urged the Department of Education to stop the implementation of the Catch-Up Fridays reading intervention program, saying that teachers are feeling the brunt of the additional workload in preparation for its implementation every Friday.

The program was implemented starting last January 12 to focus on reading and to foster values, health and peace education in all public elementary and secondary schools and community learning centers across the country.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers said teachers have to make do with insufficient books and learning materials to make the program a success.

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“Due to the lack or insufficiency of books or materials, teachers are forced to spend on photocopying reading materials,” the group said.

“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 DepEd has yet to comment on the issue.

“Catch-up Fridays is a learning mechanism intended to strengthen the foundational, social and other relevant skills necessary to actualize the intent of the basic education curriculum,” the DepEd memorandum on the program said.

It added the initiative is integral in the National Reading and Mathematics Program, which is a critical component of the DepEd’s National Learning Recovery Program or NLRP.

The NLRP is part of the DepEd’s efforts to recover lost ground in basic education due to the physical closure of schools for nearly three years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group said such intervention programs to address the learning crisis in public schools should be tailored to every individual need of students.

“Therefore, Catch-Up Fridays should be halted, and consultations should precede any further action,” the group said.

Another group of teachers appealed to the DepEd not to hasten the implementation of the program, saying it brings more problems to the basic education sector.

Benjo Basas, the national chairperson of the Teachers Dignity Coalition, said the 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, with due respect to DepEd, and in particular the Curriculum and Teaching Strand,” Basas said, adding there is no urgent necessity for DepEd to implement the program 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.

“We need a day where we have to catch up on where we want our children to be. We should stop repeatedly doing things that do not result in marked improvement in our learners,” she said then.

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.

The latest PISA report released in December 2023 showed the same result, showing that the average scores of Filipino students in reading, mathematics and science have not improved significantly compared to other countries.

The report stated that mean scores showed that Filipino students aged 15 garnered only 356 points in science, 347 in reading, and 355 in mathematics.

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The mean score for math among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries was 472 points for mathematics, 476 in reading and, 485 in science.

Duterte termed the results as “uncomfortable truths” that should prod all stakeholders in the education sector to word hard to address the findings.

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