SPI, together with the Synergeia Foundation Inc., the USAID, the LGU-Magsaysay and the Department of Education recently forged a partnership for the implementation of a three-year Reading and Comprehension Proficiency Program for the students of Magsaysay, Misamis Oriental. SPI has earmarked P1.3 million worth of assistance for the implementation of the project.
Dr. Nene Guevara, president, and CEO of Synergeia Foundation shared the results from a study that covered 91 local government units in the country of Grades 1-6 students. For schoolyear 2017, prior to any reading intervention, 53% were frustrated readers and 23% independent readers. Twenty-three percent could not comprehend and 7 percent could not read at all.
“How can these students ever cope with the demands of school?” Guevarra asked.
It was clear that a comprehensive approach is needed to address this by strengthening teacher content skills along with parent education to help make them realize how important reading is for success in education, and providing students with attractive workbooks to help hone their reading skills.
Magsaysay, which has one of the highest incidences of poverty in Misamis Oriental, is the latest recipient of this program following the successful implementation of the reading and comprehension program in SPI’s host communities in Tagoloan and Villanueva.
SPI’s has been supporting the reading proficiency program way back many years ago when its former Chairman of the Board and staunch education advocate, the late Dr. Washington SyCip, saw the need to address the deteriorating quality of education in the country by addressing one of its root causes which is the inability the of students to read and comprehend especially at the basic education level.
