Manila: Nearly PHP9 billion under the 2026 national budget will expand the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) program to accelerate learning recovery, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian assured.
According to Philippines News Agency, the Department of Education's (DepEd) Middle of School Year Assessments show that Grade 3 to 6 learners improved their reading readiness by an average of five points, while Grades 7 to 10 learners had improvements ranging from six to nine points.
Gatchalian emphasized that these gains represent progress for 3.42 million Grades 3 to 6 learners and 1.72 million learners in Grades 7 to 10, bringing them closer to achieving grade-level reading proficiency.
'Bahagi ng makasaysayang pondong inilaan natin para sa sektor ng edukasyon ngayon taon ang buong suporta para sa pagpapatupad ng (Part of the historic funding we have allocated to the education sector this year is full support for the implementation of the) ARAL program,' Gatchalian stated in a news release on Sunday.
As the sponsor of the ARAL Program Act, Gatchalian highlighted that the PHP9 billion allocation is a crucial measure to address the ongoing education crisis. Under the 2026 national budget, PHP8.96 billion is designated for the ARAL program to engage 440,000 tutors and reach 6.7 million learners for the school year 2026-2027.
