The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition raised alarm over reports that about 87% of Grade 11 students in the country struggle with reading comprehension, calling for urgent reforms in early-grade literacy to prevent students from advancing without basic reading skills.
Benjo Basas, national chairman of the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition, said the figure reflects a long-standing crisis in basic education that continues to worsen, as he reacted to findings cited in a recent congressional education assessment.
During an interview on DZRH program Dos Por Dos on Monday, Basas described the situation as “another sad development” in Philippine education, but stressed the need to validate and properly contextualize the data.
“Hindi ko naman po dinidispute. Unless meron akong evidence na ito ay sobrang taas naman kasi, 1.3 million, that's something like 80% or more than 80% of our grade 11 students,” Basas said, referring to the reported share of struggling Grade 11 learners.
He said the situation underscores systemic gaps in the country’s education pipeline, particularly the progression of students who reach senior high school without adequate reading proficiency.
“Tignan natin bakit po umaabot ng grade 11 yung ating mga learners na hindi po natin masasabi na yung reading competencies po nila ay bagay sa kanilang grade level,” Basas said.
“Ang aming solusyon po dito ay tiyakin ng ating department education na lahat ng bata na umakyat doon sa grade 4, bago umalis na grade 3, lahat talaga ay marunong magbasa at nakakabasa po with comprehension,” he added.
The issue was earlier highlighted by Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo, chairperson of the Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), who cited DepEd assessment data showing that a large majority of Grade 11 students struggle with reading comprehension.
Romulo described the findings as “alarming,” warning that the trend could affect the country’s future workforce and overall productivity.
The data was based on assessments conducted by the Department of Education under its pilot implementation of an enhanced senior high school curriculum.
Education stakeholders have repeatedly flagged literacy gaps in early grades as a key factor behind declining learning outcomes, calling for stronger intervention programs at the elementary level to address foundational reading skills.
