showtime DepEd, DSWD aim to tutor 207,000 students in reading in 2025

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Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian sign a memorandum of agreement for the “Tarashowtime, Basa!” (Let’s Read!) tutoring program at the DepEd Central Office in Pasig City on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (Photo from the Department of Education)

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MANILA, Philippines — In a bid to boost literacy, the Departments of Education (DepEd) and Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are aiming to teach 207,000 students to read through the “Tara, Basa!” (Let’s Read!) program in 2025.

Officially launched last March, “Tara, Basa!” deploys college students to assist first- and second-grade public school students who are struggling to read.

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In exchange for 20 tutoring sessions, college students in the program receive work experience and cash based on the regional minimum wage.

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DSWD said in a statement that “Tara, Basa!” benefited a total of 120,359 college students and elementary learners across Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Soccsksargen in 2024.

It did not provide a breakdown of the beneficiaries.

It was a reference to the notorious “behest loans” granted to individuals or corporations favored by powerful government officials.

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The program also includes “Nanay-Tatay” (Mother-Father) learning sessions, equipping parents to better support their children’s education.

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DepEd said on Saturday that it will aid the DSWD’s program by assisting with logistics, identifying beneficiaries, and capacity-building with the Ateneo Center for Educational Development. According to the DSWD, DepEd will also be responsible for selecting beneficiaries based on the National Assessment on Reading Comprehension and matching elementary students with tutors.

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For its part, the DSWD will lead in formulating the program, providing technical assistance in conducting capacity-building and payout activities, and designing the social and behavior change communication materials for the initiative.

The two departments formalized their partnership with a memorandum of agreement signed on Friday, Dec. 20, at the DepEd Central Office in Pasig City.

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“Definitely, it will improve the delivery of services with learning and I think the interface with DSWD and DepEd will be very fruitful and productive for our children and young learners,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara said during the signing.

Meanwhile, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said, “That is what our goal is: to ease into that culture of not mendicancy but rather nation-building.”

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“Tara, Basa!” was declared a flagship program of the national government by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last November.

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