The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has started the orientation and training of college students who will compose the army of tutors for the Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program after its pilot launch on Wednesday (August 2).

The Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program is a reformatted educational assistance program of the Department that seeks to build an ecosystem of learning by training college students from low-income families who are in difficult situations to become tutors and Youth Development Workers (YDWs).

The Tara, Basa! pilot implementation targets to capacitate 6,386 student tutors and 584 YDWs enrolled in 20 selected state or local college/university in Metro Manila.

The student-tutors will be trained and given capability building sessions on how to effectively teach reading to be conducted by the Ateneo Center for Educational Development (ACED).

Among the areas which started the training and orientation of student-tutors were Pasig City, Quezon City, Makati City, and Parañaque City. The other pilot areas in the National Capital Region will conduct the training sessions in the coming days.

The training for the YDWs is scheduled on August 10 to 12, while the official learning sessions with parents and Grade 1 students will begin on August 14.

To monitor the performance and progress of the learners, the Department of Education (DepEd), the DSWD’s partner agency in this project, will conduct the Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA).

As tutors, the participating college students will teach struggling or non-reader grade school learners who are vulnerable, at risk, or affected by the effects brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

YDWs, meanwhile, will help conduct parenting sessions to capacitate parents and guardians to become ‘Nanay-Tatay teachers’.

According to DSWD spokesperson Asst. Secretary Romel Lopez, tutors and YDWs will receive cash assistance worth Php 500 per day for 20 days from the DSWD through a cash-for-work scheme, in exchange for their rendered service.

“Young Filipinos are the pillars of our country’s future. Through Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program, we are encouraging their involvement in nation-building by helping them to become more involved in their communities and build the skills and confidence that they need to become future leaders,” the DSWD spokesperson said.

A total of 63,877 Grade 1 learners currently enrolled in 490 public elementary schools are expected to participate in the program with their parents or guardians.

The parents and guardians of struggling or non-reader grade school learners will also receive cash assistance worth Php 235 per day for 20 days for helping in the preparation of the needs of their children for their learning and reading sessions and other related activities.

“The program will strengthen family and community support for elementary school children by capacitating parents and guardians on care and protection of their children,” Asst. Secretary Lopez said. #