DepEd calls for sustained funding to address literacy challenges

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday called for the full and sustained funding of all education mandates, emphasizing that continued investment is vital to address the country’s literacy challenges and to ensure every Filipino learner has a fair and equal chance to succeed.

“With the support of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., we are aligning resources, streamlining functions, and focusing on what matters most — foundational learning and literacy recovery,” DepEd said in an official statement.

The department said several key reforms are already in motion, including the rollout of the streamlined K-10 and senior high school curricula, nationwide teacher training programs, and the establishment of the DepEd Principals Academy.

Efforts are also underway to expand classroom construction and textbook procurement, strengthen education technology integration, and deploy additional administrative officers in schools to allow teachers to focus more on instruction.

DepEd stressed that collaboration with national agencies, local governments, and development partners remains crucial to making the education system more effective and responsive.

“Together with all agencies, local governments, and partners, we are making sure that every peso invested in education truly counts for every Filipino learner,” the statement read.

The call comes as DepEd continues to push for literacy recovery initiatives and foundational learning reforms amid post-pandemic learning losses and the persistent challenge of low reading and numeracy proficiency among students.

On Saturday, the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) expressed alarm over the DepEd's involvement in over 200 interagency bodies, which supposedly diverted the agency from addressing “functional illiteracy.”

The EDCOM 2 recently conducted a hearing on the charter and mandates of DepEd, during which Education Secretary Sonny Angara disclosed that the department currently sits in 261 interagency bodies, chairing at least 20, and attending 21 jointly with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA). 

It said this was a “huge leap” from the 63 bodies it originally reported in its Year One Report entitled “Miseducation: The Failed System of Philippine Education.”

Angara said that DepEd seeks to close the gap so that "every public school will have at least one admin officer" by 2026. 

DepEd further reported that, since 1982, the agency had its mandates multiplied, including 21 laws covering curriculum and teaching, 10 laws covering culture and civics, 18 laws covering health and safety, and hundreds of laws establishing, converting, or separating schools. —KG, GMA Integrated News