Decades ago, classroom learning hinged on memorization, rather than comprehension, of what students read or write. Hence, when students apply for jobs, they can hardly follow instructions on their application forms and their memorized skills are of no use to their companies.
Back then, the advocacy was to put a stop to memorization. Schools were instructed to give more focus on an enabling environment so students could apply the theories to enable them to build critical thinking skills.
These days, with rampant use of social media, blunders in grammar and spelling used by children make one cringe. What went wrong with their educational system? Why can’t the young compose a complete sentence or paragraph? Such errors even come from those from private colleges and universities.
Decades ago, classroom learning hinged on memorization, rather than comprehension, of what students read or write. Hence, when students apply for jobs,
ENGLISH-SPEAKING NATION
That we are touted as an English-speaking population means nothing these days. But what really matters is comprehending what they read.
Not many parents and guardians have the time, resources, patience, and the ability to coach kids so that they will understand their lessons more than just memorizing and then reciting these blindly. Many kids are left in the company of au pairs or nannies who are mainly after their wages.
Kids are so used to computers that they rely on Google for homeworks. Chances are they copy-paste Google or Wikipedia without really understanding its context. Even Math and Science homeworks can be done by Google or by AI (Artificial Intelligence) or Chatbox.
IT SPELLS DOOM
It is not surprising and lamentable, to say the least, that 19 million Filipino students– not just high school graduates in public schools– are now labeled “functionally illiterate.” This spells doom for our country’s future generation.
In a recent hearing of the Senate committee on basic education, the Philippine Statistics Authority said that 18.9 million Filipinos who completed secondary education between 2019 and 2024 have problems with reading comprehension and labeled as “functionally illiterate.”
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, the committee chair, said the results of the PSA’s Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Study (FLEMMS) should jolt policymakers. They should work together for a national strategy to address “the gravity of our situation now.” He also cited the problem of basic literacy is a factor behind high poverty incidence in several provinces.
Quoting from the study, Gatchalian said that as of 2024, 24.82 million Filipinos age 10 to 64 were considered functionally illiterate or could read, write and compute but did not understand what they just read.
Gatchalian, who co-chairs the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom 2), said another 5.86 million Filipinos in the same age group are “basic illiterate,” or unable to read, write, and compute, which Inquirer columnist Eleanor Rosa Pinugu noted poses a problem as they cannot fill out a job application form or understand complex written instructions. This poses significant challenges.
JUST BASIC SKILLS
The PSA survey, done every five years, changed in 2024 the definition of functionally literate from just the ability to read and write by adding comprehension to basic skills. Comprehension means a higher level of understanding like deducing or piecing information together to be able to provide new information, the PSA explained, adding that 572,910 individuals from 177,656 households took part in the survey.
In this study, only 79 percent of senior high school (SHS) graduates in 2024 were functionally literate, or 21 percent of SHS being considered functionally literate, which is “concerning” for Gatchalian.
LGUs should make use of the PSA survey in crafting their own literacy programs, citing that the poorest provinces like Tawi Tawi and Davao Occidental having the highest functional illiteracy rate. Topping the PSA survey were Cavite and Bataan, he added.
Still, the Department of Education (DepEd) defensively declared that this huge number of practical robots— those who barely understand what they have read and memorized in school— spreads across all lower grade and undergraduate levels.
MORE STRINGENT CRITERIA
In the 2024 PSA survey, DepEd said the 19 million Filipinos considered “functionally illiterate”came from a much broader age group, not just high school, reported GMA Integrated News.
DepEd Undersecretary for Strategic Management Ronald Mendoza said the FLEMMS-PSA data actually indicated that 18.9 million Filipinos aged 10 to 64 were classified as functionally illiterate.
This means that these people can read, write, and compute but struggle with comprehension, regardless of their educational attainment.
Mendoza said only about 11.6 million were Junior High School and Senior High School learners for School Year 2024-2025, “making it incorrect to attribute the full 18.9 million figure solely to high school graduates.”
The 2024 PSA revision, he said, involves more stringent criteria.
“Basic literates now should be able to read, write with understanding, and compute whereas functional literates should be able to read, write, compute and comprehend.”
Because of this, Mendoza added, the overall literacy rates in the country have decreased.
The recent FLEMMS results on functional literacy highlight what we have long recognized— literacy must be at the heart of our education reforms.