The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday said it has introduced various interventions to address the challenges on the quality of education nationwide even before the coronavirus pandemic started.

In a statement, the DepEd noted that the issue of learning poverty has been a dilemma of the country for years, emphasizing that it is has been proactively dealing with the problem for a long time.

The agency’s remarks came in response to a new World Bank report saying the Philippines has a 90 percent “learning poverty” which is defined as the rate of children being unable to read by the age of 10.

“Before the pandemic, we launched the Bawat Bata Bumabasa (3Bs) initiative nationwide, with our field offices aggressively coming up with contextualized approaches to increase reading proficiency among learners,” it said.

Apart from the 3Bs, DepEd’s Every Child a Reader Program (ECARP) also integrates strengthened initiatives on Early Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program (ELLN), Mother Tongue-Based of Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE), and Pedagogical Retooling in Mathematics, Languages, and Science (PRIMALS).

“Amidst the public health situation, we carried on to roll out our reforms in the curriculum, the learning environment, and the teacher professional development through our Sulong EduKalidad campaign,” the DepEd said.

Currently, the agency is preparing its participation in the upcoming international assessments of its efforts in improving the quality of basic education in the country. (PNA)