The Department of Education (DepEd) underscored the urgent need to develop the literacy skills of Filipino students as early as kindergarten to address the alarming rate of functional illiteracy among Filipino youth.
According to DepEd Assistant Secretary for Curriculum and Teaching Jerome Buenviaje, this move is a direct response to the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), which revealed that over 18 million junior high school graduates are considered functionally illiterate.
“It’s important to start teaching literacy at the early stages—from kindergarten to Grade 3. Studies show that if children don’t get enough support in this key stage, they will struggle to catch up from Grade 4 onwards,” Buenviaje said in an interview.
In 2023, DepEd launched the revised K-10 curriculum under the K-12 program. The recalibrated curriculum, now in phased implementation, reduced learning competencies by 70%, from 11,700 to 3,600. The number of subjects was also trimmed down, with greater focus on foundational skills like literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional development for Kinder to Grade 3 learners.
Buenviaje emphasized, however, that tackling functional illiteracy cannot be achieved by the education department alone, as it is also caused by factors like poor nutrition.
“Nutrition and literacy go hand in hand. That’s why DepEd is laying a solid foundation by ensuring access to early childhood nutrition and a strong literacy program in Grades K to 3,” he added.
Following the release of the 2024 FLEMMS results, Education Secretary Sonny Angara reaffirmed DepEd’s commitment to ensure every learner in the country becomes functionally literate.
“We will not let any learner fall behind in reading and comprehension. The recent FLEMMS results highlight what we have long recognized—literacy must be at the heart of our education reforms,” Angara said.
Meanwhile, Senator Loren Legarda, Commissioner of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), called for urgent action to strengthen foundational learning. She cited the 18.9 million Filipinos who completed basic education between 2019 and 2024 but were still deemed functionally illiterate.
This concerning figure was presented during a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, based on preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
FLEMMS, conducted nationwide every five years, has recently adopted a new methodology for measuring basic and functional literacy. Under the new definition, being functionally literate is no longer limited to knowing how to read, write, and count—it now includes critical thinking, comprehension, and the ability to draw conclusions from what was read.
“Foundational learning must be a top priority. If a child doesn’t learn to read or lacks core skills by Grade 3, they will gradually fall behind in all subjects, because all learning is rooted in understanding and processing information,” Legarda said.
“Reading with comprehension empowers children to think critically, ask questions, and pursue lifelong learning. It’s not just about answering questions, but learning to ask the right ones and understand the world with purpose and direction,” she added.
Legarda also warned that widespread functional illiteracy poses a serious threat to national development. It weakens the ability of Filipinos to compete in the fast-paced job market and deepens social inequality.
