Manila: Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Friday thanked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for signing the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) law, the free national learning intervention program aimed at uplifting the quality of education in the country. "This law demonstrates our collective resolve to uplift the state of education in the Philippines. With ARAL, we can help students regain their momentum and achieve the learning milestones they deserve,' Angara said in a statement. The ARAL program would provide a free and effective national intervention mechanism for students struggling in their lessons, especially in reading, mathematics, and science, to attain competencies set by the DepEd. Angara said the program needs a pool of teachers nationwide to help learners. The law provides that teachers, para-teachers, and pre-service teachers may be enlisted as ARAL program tutors, provided that teachers shall not be tutors of their own learners. "Pagkukunan natin sa mga former teachers, iy ong mga (We will get from former teachers, those who are) waiting for licensure exam result, atsaka iyong mga talagang nagtu-tutor for a living. Iyon ang mga pwedeng (and those who tutor for a living, they are the possible) resource,' he said. In particular, the ARAL program will help learners in Kinder 'build foundational skills' in literacy and numeracy; reading and mathematics for Grades 1 to 10; and science for Grades 3 to 10. Learners in public schools may access the program through flexible modes including in-person tutorials, online setup, or blended learning. Source: Philippines News agency