A harmful classroom culture where students are shamed instead of supported may be worsening the Philippines’ reading comprehension crisis, an education expert warned during the release of the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS).
“Ang teachers ang nagsi-shame sa learners… kaya kailangan piliin natin kung sino ang nasa teaching profession,” said Dr. Majah-Leah V. Ravago, Director of SEAMEO INNOTECH, during a media forum following the presentation of national literacy data by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday.
As reported by GMA News Online, the latest FLEMMS results revealed that while 93.1% of Filipinos aged 10 to 64 can read and write basic messages, only 70.8% possess functional literacy — the ability to understand and apply what they read. The steep drop underscores a troubling gap: many know how to read, but not how to comprehend.
PSA chief Dr. Claire Dennis S. Mapa confirmed this shift in the education challenge, explaining, “Marunong sila magbasa, marunong sila magsulat, marunong sila mag-compute pero ang problema, yung comprehension.”
Ravago said this issue is further compounded by societal attitudes that diminish the teaching profession. She cited a common saying in rural areas: “Mahina ka sa math? Mag-teacher ka na lang,” and emphasized that such mindsets must change.
To address the crisis, she urged reforms that include stricter qualifications for aspiring teachers, improved training focused on fostering a supportive classroom environment, and better compensation to attract top talent.
“Let’s make the teaching profession attractive because they are the shapers of our learners,” Ravago emphasized.
The 2024 FLEMMS is the most comprehensive literacy study ever conducted in the Philippines, covering over 572,000 individuals from 177,000 households. Full data, including city and provincial breakdowns, will be released later this year through psa.gov.ph.
