DepEd vows literacy reforms to address 'functionally illiterate' crisis

The latest FLEMMS data revealed significant gaps in functional literacy among Filipino learners-an issue DepEd has long acknowledged and is now tackling head-on.

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"The recent FLEMMS results on functional literacy highlight what we have long recognized-literacy must be at the heart of our education reforms," Angara said.

With literacy positioned at the core of its education reform agenda, Angara said DepEd has launched a series of strategic interventions to ensure that no child is left behind.

FLEMMS results

EDCOM 2, the congressional body tasked with conducting a comprehensive national assessment of the Philippine education sector, said in a statement that approximately 18 million Filipinos who graduated from high school may be functionally illiterate.

This alarming figure, EDCOM 2 said, was revealed during the April 30 Senate hearing on the 2024 FLEMMS.

The hearing, led by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education and Co-Chair of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), highlighted what he called a "serious education crisis."

"There are high school and junior high school graduates who did not pass the new definition of functional literacy," Gatchalian said. "In other words, 18 million graduates from the system are not functionally literate," he added.