Reading Comprehension is the Main Problem of the Students not Literacy
Reading comprehension is the main problem of the students not just in Bicol but also all over the country not literacy, DepEd Secretary Briones said.
Briones said that not knowing how to read does not mean the students are “no read, no write”. According to the data released by Grace Rabelas, Education Supervisor of the Department of Education (DepEd) Bicol, 18,143 pupils that are “nonreaders” are from Grade 3 to 6. The rest are in Grade 1 to 2. Its based on the result of the pretest given on July and August last year conducted by the (Phil-IRI). Phil-IRI is the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory, an initiative of the department’s Bureau of Elementary Education.
Alarming
These reports of ten of thousands of students in the region who cannot read alarmed the Albay Rep. Joey Salceda based on the news. It will cause a wider implication in the economy if not given attention, Salceda said. He also added, that if the young Filipinos are not properly educated and skilled, and cannot apply the books in practical life, then it will fail the country.
According to Sec. Briones, there are also students that can read but cannot understand what they are reading. She also added that, those who are having a difficulty with English and with Filipino are also part of the 70,000 nonreaders.
An Insult
The 70,000 nonreaders is only less than 5 percent of the whole student population, Briones explained. Saying that there are 70,000 Bicolanos who are illiterate is an insult to all Bicolanos. She thinks the numbers are not that accurate because she’s looking at different levels.
An annual assessment of DepEd is to test the level of comprehension of the students for what they read and understand on the reading materials given to them. The reading materials are given according to their grade, Briones said. The assessment was not just conducted in Bicol but in the entire country, she added.