MANILA, Philippines – The Basa Pilipinas program which trains educators for grades 1-3 to teach reading more effectively and supports the Department of Education (DepEd) in carrying out curriculum reforms in language and literacy, has reached over 1.6 million early grade students and trained 16,335 teachers and school heads.
The program, a partnership between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Dep-Ed, also provided approximately eight million copies of teaching and learning materials, written in English and local dialects (Sinugbuanong Binisaya, Ilokano and Filipino).
Last week, Trey Hicks of the US Senate foreign relations committee visited two Cebu elementary schools and met with government and school officials to reaffirm the US government’s commitment to help improve the reading skills of young learners.
Hicks, together with the US embassy’s USAID office of education chief Brian Levey, visited schools in Consolacion and Mandaue, and donated teaching and learning materials.
The delegation also met with government and school officials in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Bohol and Tagbilaran.
“Reading is the foundation for other learning activities and a major factor in determining if a child continues to learn and stay in school,” Levey said.
“Education unlocks children’s creativity and potential, setting them on a path toward making informed and healthy decisions and taking advantage of limitless economic opportunities,” he added.
Hicks led a reading activity for the children and met with school leaders, teachers and parents to understand first-hand how US assistance has improved students’ reading abilities.
In 2013, responding to the need to improve basic literacy among early grade students in public schools, USAID launched the $39.7 million program Basa Pilipinas, in partnership with the DepEd.