MANILA — Some lawmakers and a teachers' group raised concern on the implementation of the Department of Education’s “Catch-up Fridays,” which seeks to improve literacy in public schools.

• Marcos orders DepEd to improve teaching quality after poor PISA ranking

During Monday’s DepEd briefing before the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture, they said the program’s structure and teachers’ preparation for the implementation of “Catch-up Fridays” appear to be lacking.

"Naka-receive ako ng mga feedback. Sabi ni Usec. Poa may orientation. Hindi ganoon ang naganap. Literally, pinagbasa lang ang mga bata ng kung anu-ano lang," ACT Party List Representative France Castro said.

"Dapat mayroon tayong diagnostic test… Para alam din ng teacher ‘yung mga level, sinong magbabasa ng ganito, sino ang tututuruan mo ng sounds. Sino ang tuturuan mo na ma-understand na nila yung binabasa nila," Castro added.

“Para hindi rin sayang ‘yung oras. Kasi ‘yun ang kailangan natin eh. ‘Yung catch up talaga ng reading comprehension, pero kung gagawin nyo na checklist, masabi lang, wala rin,” Committee Chairperson and Pasig City Representative Roman Romulo added.

According to Alliance of Concerned Teachers Chairperson Vladimir Quetua, the program actually derailed the teachers and students' schedule.

“Malapit na po ang exam, pero nagulo ang mga teacher at mga bata dito sa catch-up Friday na ito… Wala kaming tutol sa pagbabasa. Pero sana naman i-timing ito sa tamang timing,” he said.

DepEd Memorandum No. 001 series of 2024 states that all Fridays throughout the school year shall be designated as Catch-up Fridays, with a focus on operationalizing the National Reading Program during the first half of the day, while the second half will focus on fostering values, health and peace education.

DepEd said that the month of January is meant to ease students and teachers into the program, and that feedback on its implementation will be addressed.

• DepEd on incentive for teachers: 'We can’t promise maximum amount'

“We really envisioned it to be more structured. Just to ease everyone in, we decided that for the month of January, it will just be drop everything and read for our learners, whereas for the teachers, it will be an orientation,” Education Undersecretary Michael Poa told the panel.

“We want to get feedback, such as the feedback given to us today, and this will be considered going forward," he added.

The DepEd, meanwhile, plans to conduct consultations on the proposed shift in the academic calendar, expressing openness to the idea.

• Return to pre-pandemic school calendar may take 3-5 years, says DepEd

“As regards the academic calendar, nasabi na natin dati na pinag-aaralan. We already got the results, and mga simulations on how to go back doon sa April-May break natin. Since we are crafting the policy," he said.

"Importante ang consultation. We will be scheduling consultations this month na, not only with learners and members of the academe, but also with teachers associations, unions and parents, para makita natin. Kasi maraming apektado, these things have to be discussed thoroughly,” Poa added.

RELATED VIDEO

Watch more News on iWantTFC