The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is working to institutionalize the Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program by pushing for a law that will ensure its sustainability in the years to come.
Undersecretary Edu Punay of the DSWD’s Innovations and Programs Development Group (IPDG)
Said during the Thursday Media Forum that the DSWD sees the Tara, Basa! program as a vital part of its social protection efforts that provides financial aid to 2nd to 4th year college students belonging to low income families while also contributing to address the challenges in reading comprehension.
“Ang programa pong ito ay may executive order na mula sa Pangulo [President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.] para mas mapabilis ang implementation. Pero yes, tama kayo, para for the longer term, kailangan natin ng batas. Sa Tara, Basa!, nakahanap na kami ng sponsor para sa bill,” Undersecretary Punay told reporters at the Central Office’s New Press Center in Quezon City.
Under the Tara, Basa! program, college students, specifically those taking up education and social work course, receive cash-for-work (CFW) based on the prevailing regional wage rate in their areas in exchange for the service they render as tutors and youth development workers (YDWs).
These college student-beneficiaries commit to render service for 20 days to teach struggling or non-reader elementary learners to enhance their reading and comprehension skills, and conduct parenting and learning sessions to the parents and guardians of grade school students.
Undersecretary Punay said the agency hopes the Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program will grow into a national program on the scale of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
“Napakahalaga nito sa sustainability at yun ang target namin. Hopefully, maging sing-laki ng Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) ito eventually in the years to come,” the DSWD official told reporters at the Media Forum.
Since its pilot implementation in 2023, the program has already helped over 350,000 beneficiaries—including struggling young readers, their parents, and college student tutors and YDWs.
The Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program is the DSWD’s reformatted educational assistance program, in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd). It was declared a flagship program by the President through Executive Order 76 signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on November 22, 2024. (YADP)