MANILA – To address the learning loss resulting from the Covid-19 school closures, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday said the learning recovery plan should be included in the Department of Education’s (DepEd) budget for fiscal year 2024.

During the recent Senate Committee on Finance hearing on the proposed budget of the DepEd and its attached agencies, Gatchalian asked the department to submit its budgetary requirements for the implementation of learning recovery measures.

While the DepEd said it can tap around PHP4 billion allotted under the Basic Education Curriculum, Gatchalian quizzed the agency whether it has enough allocation to reach learners needing the most intervention.

The DepEd said it will officially submit its budgetary requirements to implement learning recovery.

“Since we are still recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, we want to make sure that there are funds for learning recovery under the DepEd’s 2024 budget,” Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, said in a news release.

The World Bank estimates that as of June 2022, learning poverty in the Philippines is at 90.9 percent.

The DepEd previously announced that it is implementing the National Reading Camp, the National Mathematics Program, and the National Science and Technology Program to combat learning losses during the pandemic.

The DepEd also implemented the National Learning Camp (NLC) during the end-of-school-year break of School Year 2022-2023.

The NLC is a voluntary program that started its phased implementation with Grades 7 and 8, focusing on Science, English and Mathematics.

For Gatchalian, programs for learning recovery should be designed to capture students who are struggling to master the competencies required of them.

Gatchalian has already filed Senate Bill No. 1604 or ARAL Program Act to accelerate learning recovery. It targets to include learners who are below the minimum proficiency levels required in Language, Mathematics and Science. (PNA)