Mandaue City pushing for better functional literacy among learners

The Department of Education (DepEd) Mandaue City Division has emphasized its commitment to bridging the gap between students’ high basic literacy rates and their functional literacy performance.

- Kristin de Dios/BRP

However, DepEd Mandaue Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Bianito Dagatan said the current challenge is to further strengthen the transition from basic to functional literacy among learners, with the support of teachers.

As earlier reported, among highly urbanized cities, Mandaue City ranked highest in basic literacy at 95.2%, followed by Cebu City at 94.7%, and Lapu-Lapu City with 93.3%, according to the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In the same survey, Mandaue City also ranked the highest in functional literacy at 72.7%, followed by Lapu-Lapu City at 67.2%, and Cebu City at 65.9%.

Functional literacy, as defined by the survey, includes not only the ability to read, write, and compute but also the capacity to comprehend, integrate, and analyze information. In contrast, basic literacy refers to the ability to read and write simple messages and perform basic arithmetic with understanding.

Dagatan said that, given the results of the survey, the next step is to find ways to capitalize on the situation so they can progress from high basic literacy to high functional literacy.