PHILIPPINE senators on Wednesday pushed mandatory learning camps to help Filipino students keep up with basic subjects.
“We need to stop the bleeding now in the next 10 months and that should be addressed by focusing all of our energies and look for those who need intervention,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian told a Senate basic education hearing.
Only 52% of students in grades 1 to 3 have “grade-ready” reading abilities, he said, citing data from the Department of Education.
“We need to make it mandatory because we are already in a crisis situation and can’t be too lenient,” said Mr. Gatchalian, who heads the basic education committee.
“This has to be incorporated in the school year because I don’t think one camp will cure their problems,” Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay-Angeles told the same hearing in mixed English and Filipino. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
