Baguio City: The Igorot people's concept of education as the best inheritance for a child is being eyed as a contributing factor to the high literacy rate in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). 'Parents of learners in last mile schools, even if they cannot read, invest their time and whatever available resources to ensure that their children will be able to receive an education because they see it as the best inheritance or wealth they can leave to their children,' Dr. Estela Cari±o, Department of Education in Cordillera Administrative Region (DepEd-CAR), said during the 2nd Quarter Kapihan sa DepEd-CAR at the Baguio City School Division Office.
According to Philippines News Agency, Cari±o recalled that during the pandemic, when DepEd implemented alternative modes of learning to avoid disruption of children's education, parents exerted effort to help their sons and daughters. 'When I visited a far-flung community in Mountain Province during the pandemic, a parent asked how much a tablet is so that their children will be able to cope with the system of online education, they asked that the school help them buy and they will pay in installments,' Cari±o said.
She added that parents who are uneducated and cannot help their children with their lessons make up for it by participating in the Brigada Eskwela. In times of calamities, they also help repair damaged classrooms.
The latest Functional Literacy Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) of the Philippine Statistics Authority showed Cordillera on the top spot in functional literacy with a rating of 81.2 percent. The region also ranked second in basic literacy with a rate of 92.7 percent, after Region 3 or Central Luzon's 92.8 percent. Basic literacy refers to the ability to read, write, and compute, while functional literacy includes comprehension.
Dr. Soraya Faculo, Baguio City Schools Division Supervisor, in the same press conference, also credited the parents, teachers, the local government, and the community for the region's high literacy rate. Baguio ranked second nationwide in terms of functional literacy, with a rating of 89.8 percent, after the City of San Juan.
Faculo said parents actively participate in school programs while the local government unit provides funds to support the different initiatives aimed at improving the quality of education being provided to the learners.
Ronald Castillo, DepEd-CAR assistant director who is from Apayao, shared that in his province, the local government conducts a monthly education summit focused on the performance of the students. Apayao topped the region in basic literacy with a rating of 95.2 percent, which is much higher than the national rate of 90 percent.
Castillo said in Cordillera, teachers implement a comprehensive rapid literacy assessment tool, which is a diagnostic test for Grades 1 to 3 pupils to determine whether they are qualified to enter Grade 4. He said this tool determines whether a learner knows how to read, whether the vocabulary is expansive, and whether comprehension is good.
