Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte announced on Tuesday that the Department is developing a policy for “catch-up Friday” which will allot every Friday of the week as a time for basic education learners to improve their reading and writing skills.

Duterte made the announcement during her speech at the culmination of the National Reading Month held at Esteban Abada Elementary School in Quezon City.

“Ibig sabihin, wala tayong ibang gagawin kundi turuan ang mga bata magbasa at ‘yung mga marunong nang magbasa, ituro sa kanila ang critical thinking and analysis. ‘Yung mga marunong na sa critical thinking and analysis, pasulatin ninyo ng libro, ng essay, lahat ng kailangan nating gawin na matutunan ng mga bata, gawin natin sa (It means that we will do nothing else but to teach the learners how to read and those who are good in reading, teach them critical thinking and analysis. For those who are good in critical thinking and analysis, let them write a book, essay, and everything that the children need to learn, let’s do it on) catch-up Friday,” Duterte said in her speech.

The DepEd, she admitted, is not expecting to receive good results from the recent Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an international system assessment meant to provide feedback on education quality which the country has been participating in since 2018.

Duterte said “catch-up Friday” will start on Jan. 12, 2024.

“Subukan lang natin. Tingnan natin kung meron tayong makikita na pagbabago after we do it during the term of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.. Six years nating gawin. Habulin natin kung ano ‘yung mga kailangan nating habulin, na kailangang matutunan ng mga bata (Let’s give it a try. Let’s see if we there will be an improvement during the term of President Marcos. We’ll do it in six years. Let’s catch up what the children need to learn),” she said.

Spearheaded by the DepEd’s Bureau of Learning Delivery of the Curriculum and Teaching Strand, the program “PAGBASA: Pag-asa sa MATATAG na Kinabukasan” focuses on empowering public and private schools to join the reading celebration as anchored in the MATATAG Agenda’s literacy programs.

The MATATAG Curriculum seeks to decongest the current K to 12 Curriculum by reducing the number of competencies to focus more on the foundational skills such as literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills of learners.

During the event, Duterte also launched her children’s book entitled “Isang Kaibigan (A Friend)” and read it to the students. (PNA)