House education panel chair urges DepEd to hasten teaching reading comprehension 

A House leader on Monday called on the Department of Education (DepEd) to speed up the teaching of reading comprehension to young learners amid the country’s long-standing problem of how it fares in local and international large-scale assessments. 

In a hearing of the House committee on basic education and culture, panel chair Pasig City Representative Roman Romulo questioned DepEd’s seemingly slow pacing in teaching students, particularly Grades 1 to 3, how to read and understand what they are reading. 

“Based on the experts that we've talked to, when it comes to reading, we don't have to reinvent. It’s already a science on how best or most effective to teach reading comprehension. ‘Di ko maintindihan bakit ang tagal [I don’t understand why this is taking so long],” the congressman said. 

“It’s not a matter of preparing anything because since time immemorial, science na nga siya eh [this is science already]. This is the proper way to teach reading comprehension and we need to do it. Bakit, nagtataka kami, bakit nagtagal [we’re wondering why this is taking so long],” he added. 

For DepEd’s part, Undersecretary Gina Gonong explained that teachers need first to understand how to teach the revised K-10 curriculum of the K-12 program. 

“In the new curriculum, we removed mother tongue as a subject. We added two learning areas that are language and reading literacy. So our teachers need to understand the new framework in the teaching of language and literacy,” she said. 

In August 2023, DepEd launched the new MATATAG K-10 curriculum, which is currently being piloted in 35 schools nationwide.

Under the revised K-10 curriculum, the number of learning competencies was reduced by 70% from around 11,700 to 3,600. 

DepEd also cut down the number of subjects, with greater emphasis given on the development of Kinder to Grade 3 learners' foundational skills—such as literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills.

According to Romulo, the DepEd should have a “sense of urgency” when it comes to teaching particularly young learners about reading comprehension, lamenting their low proficiency levels in reading. 

“May problema talaga sa reading comprehension. We’ve not fared well in international and local assessments. Alam na natin, sinabi na lahat ng dalubhasa, alam na natin how to teach reading comprehension. It’s a science already. Ang amin lang, sana gawin niyo na agad agad,” he said. 

(We have a problem with reading comprehension. We've not fared well in international and local assessments. We already know, and all the experts said this, how to teach reading comprehension. It's a science already. For us, we hope you do it right away.) 

“Kawawa rin ‘yung learners eh. ‘Yun lang, sense of urgency lang, lalo na sa Grades 1 to 3 lang. If you can do it nationwide already agad agad,” he continued. 

(The learners suffer from this. I hope you have a sense of urgency, especially in Grades 1 to 3. I hope you can implement it immediately nationwide.) 

The phased implementation of the new K-10 curriculum among learners in Kinder, Grade 1, Grade 4, and Grade 7 is only set to begin next school year. 

It will be followed by Grades 2, 5, and 8 in SY 2025-2026; Grades 3, 6 and 9 in SY 2026-2027; and Grade 10 in SY 2027-2028. 

In January this year, DepEd also started designating all Fridays throughout the current school year as a "catch-up" day in a bid to enhance the students’ academic performance, considering their low proficiency levels in reading based on national and international large-scale assessments. — BM, GMA Integrated News