Lingayen: Almost 1,100 youths, grade school learners, and parents in Lingayen town, Pangasinan benefitted from the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD) "Tara, Basa!" (Let's Read) tutoring program.
According to Philippines News Agency, the program, which was spearheaded by DSWD Innovations Division officer-in-charge Darwin Chan, aimed to address foundational literacy gaps among young children. It ran from May through July 12 and was designed to provide cash-for-work opportunities to 100 students and 50 youth development workers from Pangasinan State University. Participants received PHP468 per day for conducting two- to three-hour tutorials and parenting sessions over a span of 20 days.
The program implemented a tutor-to-learner ratio of 1:5, enhancing literacy skills among learners, while a youth development worker-to-parent ratio of 1:10 focused on supporting parental involvement in literacy and parenting skills. Although the program initially targeted 500 learner-beneficiaries, only 476 completed it, with distance cited as a barrier for some participants.
Parents or guardians attending the 20-day Nanay-Tatay sessions received PHP235 per day. Initial feedback indicated progress in the reading proficiency of incoming Grade 2 pupils, with many advancing from non-readers to being able to decode simple words and read basic sentences. Tutors and youth development workers reported increased confidence in teaching, and parents appreciated the sessions that empowered them to support literacy development at home.
Pre- and post-test results in Filipino showed significant improvement in learners' reading performance. The proportion of those meeting expectations rose from 35.5 percent to 70.6 percent. Additionally, the number of learners requiring interventions declined, with light intervention dropping from 32.6 percent to 19.7 percent, moderate from 27.5 percent to 8.8 percent, and full intervention from 4.4 percent to 0.84 percent. Overall, the need for any form of intervention decreased from 74.5 percent to 29.3 percent.
