By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
The Iloilo provincial government has taken steps to address the reading literacy gap among grade school learners by distributing workbooks to 10 local government units (LGUs) on Monday, September 30.
Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. led the ceremonial turnover of the workbooks to primary school students as part of the province’s Bulig Eskwela sang Probinsya (BES Probins) program.
The workbooks were distributed to students in 10 pilot LGUs, including Pavia, Mina, Batad, Guimbal, Cabatuan, Igbaras, Leganes, Lemery, Maasin, and Barotac Viejo.
“We take full responsibility for the education of the province because that is the direction we want to take—the devolution of education to the local government,” Defensor said.
He emphasized that the challenges facing the education sector are a “national emergency” and require an urgent, province-wide approach. “We are not only busy, we are also in a hurry,” Defensor added, highlighting the need for immediate action in addressing the education crisis.
The workbook distribution is part of the province’s Proof of Concept (POC) initiative on the devolution of basic education, supported by Synergeia, the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), and the Regional Education Council.
Defensor noted the innovative nature of the POC initiative, which allows the province to explore new education strategies while empowering LGUs to take an active role in the process.
Provincial Administrator Raul Banias shared that the workbooks are funded by a PHP 5 million grant from former senator and now Department of Education Secretary Sonny Angara.
Banias also pointed out that based on assessments by Synergeia and EDCOM 2, 70 percent of Grade 3 learners in the pilot LGUs are unable to read.
To address the literacy gap, the provincial government has rolled out two major education programs: the POC of Decentralizing Local Education and Improving Performance Outcomes and the BES Basa Program.
