SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian has filed a bill that will mobilize local school boards (LSBs) as de facto local literacy councils to achieve “zero illiteracy.”

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education deplored reports of low literacy rates among learners in the country.

In a recent education summit in Baguio City, it was revealed that only four out of 10 children in Grades 4 to 7 ages 9 to 12 can properly read or write in English.

This is based on the results of pretests and post-tests done from 2021 to 2022. The same tests revealed that less than half of learners from Grades 3 to 7 in the city ages 8 to 9 could read or write in Filipino.

“A child who cannot read is a problem for the entire country,” Gatchalian said in a statement.

“Our local communities play an important role in our fight against illiteracy,” he said in Filipino. “That’s why we will expand the role of local school boards in the implementation of programs to ensure that all children know how to read and understand what they are reading.”

The senator has pushed for the proposed National Literacy Council Act or Senate Bill (SB) 473 which will assign LSBs as “de facto” local literacy councils.

SB 473 seeks to strengthen the Literacy Coordinating Council (LCC), which will continue to serve as the lead inter-agency coordinating and advisory body on the formulation and implementation of measures to accelerate the literacy level.

The LCC was established by Republic Act 7165, as amended.

He noted that a survey recently posted on the official website of Cagayan province showed that 12.72 percent or 29,529 out of 231,667 learners enrolled in public schools cannot read.

The 2017-2018 Early Language, Literacy and Numeracy Assessment also revealed that the literacy rate in the province is 49.52 percent.

Under SB 473, the strengthened LCC is mandated to formulate a three-year roadmap on achieving illiteracy in communities.

LSBs, on the other hand, will be mandated to formulate a local roadmap based on the LCC’s three-year roadmap.

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong stressed the community’s role in helping the children of Baguio, who have difficulty reading and writing in English. Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba has issued Executive Order 1 directing local executives to support the Department of Education’s learning recovery plans.