For every Filipino family, education is vital. It is a basic need and a human right. 

Education in the Philippines is a priority. However, the education sector remains to be challenged by complex and multifaceted causes. This includes the reading comprehension of young learners. 

With its vision to aid inclusive and equitable education, the College of Teachers Education (CTED) of Cagayan State University stands as a beacon of support to the Department of Education in assisting struggling learners. This is through its extension project, the “Sagip Bata sa Kalidad na Edukasyon” program. 

Since its commencement on November 25, 2023, at Annafunan Integrated School in Annafunan East, Tuguegarao City - the adopted school, CTED’s efforts have yielded promising outcomes. 

Based on the recent result of their assessment, of the 37 learners, more than two-thirds of the learners’ population have improved from frustration level of reading performance, 43.2 percent were upgraded to independent level, and 27 percent were moved to instructional level. 

Under the guidance of Catherine B. Caranguian, project head, the CTED extension project has successfully boosted and contributed to the enhancement of the reading performances of the learners. 

“With the growing numbers of non-readers among children, our extension project is an avenue to help DepEd in achieving its goals of helping learners acquire quality education, and that starts with helping these young students to read with the concerted efforts of our faculty members and volunteer student-tutors in our college, ” Caranguian said. 

“This would be our contribution to the catch-up Friday of the DepEd on their project DEAR or the Drop Everything and Read because we want every young learner to get the best education for their future,” added Dr. Antonio Tamayao, project member.

Continuing their success last year and making its way to continuously setting a positive impact in the community, CTED has successfully commenced its first reading remediation for this year on February 23, 2024, with 50 pupils from grades 1 to 3 as their beneficiaries.

Those struggling learners were identified through the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory or Phil-IRI, a classroom-based assessment tool to measure the reading performance of the students.

According to the Phil-IRI assessment report of the school, more than 100 pupils face difficulties in reading, however, with only a few student-tutors, the school had only accommodated 50 struggling learners this school year. 

However, despite challenges like limited resources and high demand for support, Caranguian, together with other project members, assured to fulfill their commitment to making a difference in the community by empowering struggling learners to thrive academically. 

Adopting a holistic approach to ensure the project's success, the reading remediation is conducted every Friday using the Marungko approach which was tested for its effectiveness by DepEd. 

Moreover, the project adopts a one-on-one learner tutor style, ensuring personalized attention and thorough evaluation of the learner’s learning abilities. 

“Our students are very much willing to help the struggling learners without hesitation. They also undergone trainings and seminars to proficiently tutor the struggling learners,” said Caranguian.

Meanwhile, Ian Roger Francisco, dean of CTED, said his unwavering support for CTED’s extension project underscores his commitment to advancing inclusive education. 

Francisco believes that by allowing the CTED students to participate in the said project, they will gain invaluable experience that will complement their future careers as educators.

“From simply teaching the pupils in pronunciations, with patience and perseverance and strong support system from the school and student-tutors, this would unlock a world of opportunities,” the dean added. 

CTED’s Sagip Bata sa Kalidad na Edukasyon Project is a testament to the transformative power of education, bridging the gap for every learner to color a brighter and more equitable future. (OTB/MFJ/PIA Region 2)