MANILA — In a bid to bolster literacy and critical thinking skills among students, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte declared the implementation of ‘Catch-Up Fridays’ in all public schools nationwide, starting January 12, 2024.
This new initiative, part of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) latest efforts to enhance student literacy, will dedicate every Friday to a comprehensive reading program.
Under the ‘Catch-Up Fridays’ program, students from kindergarten to Grade 12 will engage in a day focused solely on age-appropriate reading activities.
Vice President Duterte emphasized the importance of the initiative during a recent announcement:
“We are making a policy now that every Friday will be Catch-Up Fridays. This means that there will be no other activities but teaching the children to read. Those who can read will teach critical thinking analysis. Those who are adept at critical thinking analysis will be tasked to write books, essays, and everything that we need the children to learn on Catch-Up Fridays.”
The Vice President aims to fortify and ensure the high quality of education in the country under a robust agenda.
“We also need to catch up on health, values, and peace education, where every Friday will be Catch-Up Fridays for what we want to see in the youth in the coming years. We want to see patriotic and resilient young individuals, capable readers and patriotic citizens,” Vice President Duterte added.
She encouraged parents to ensure that their children attend school and complete their studies, emphasizing that education is key to a brighter future and positive change in the lives of Filipino communities.
The ‘Catch-Up Fridays’ initiative responds to a concerning statistic revealed by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2018, indicating that the Philippines ranked the lowest in Reading Comprehension among all surveyed countries, with a score of 340 points.
Additionally, a 2023 report from the Philippine Business for Education highlighted that 9 out of 10 children aged 10 were unable to read simple texts.
The Department of Education is determined to address these challenges, aiming to improve literacy and provide quality education to the youth of the Philippines.
