DepEd seeks to address “struggling readers” via teacher reassignment, ARAL program

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday said that it will utilize its “best teachers” and tutorial support program to address the literacy gaps among young learners.

This comes after the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) flagged that only 15% of students in grades 1 to 3 are grade-level readers, while 85% are “struggling readers.”

“Before, new teachers were assigned there,” Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara told BusinessWorld in Filipino in an ambush interview.

“Our adjustment would be assigning some of our best teachers to the lower grades or what we call Key Stage 1; that’s where we will place our Master Teachers,” he added.

According to DepEd, a Master Teacher, under salary grade 18 to 20, is preferably someone who has a master’s degree and has three years of service as a Teacher III.

A Master Teacher also covers a 30 to 50% teaching load, leads curriculum enrichment, teacher coaching, and mentoring, along with 20% assistance to the school head in program implementation.

Mr. Angara noted that the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program also helps bridge the literacy gap. “That’s why we have the ARAL program, it will be applicable to them.”

The ARAL program provides tutorial support in reading, mathematics, and science for students in Kindergarten through Grade 10, helping them achieve the competencies expected for their grade level.

ARAL-Reading for School Year 2025-2026 began in the academic year’s second quarter, followed by ARAL-Mathematics for Grades 1 to 10, ARAL-Sciences for Grades 3 to 10, and ARAL-Summer Programs.

The DepEd said 447,537 tutors and 45,084 school heads are part of the program, which will benefit more than six million learners nationwide.

The agency is also pushing for a P10.2 billion budget for the program in 2026 to compensate the non-DepEd tutors adequately, provide overload pay for teachers, and expand teacher training to combat learning loss. — Almira Louise S. Martinez