The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Provincial Government of Bulacan and selected State Colleges and Universities (SUCs) in the province on Tuesday (March 19) for the scaled up pilot implementation of the agency’s Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program.
The Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program is the DSWD’s reformatted educational assistance that creates an ecosystem of learning wherein college students will be capacitated and deployed as tutors to teach poor and non or struggling readers in public elementary schools and as Youth Development Workers (YDWs) to conduct Nanay-Tatay learning sessions.
DSWD Undersecretary for Innovations Eduardo Punay, who heads the project implementation, gave an overview of the tutoring program during the launch at the e-Library Auditorium of Bulacan State University (BulSU).
Usec. Punay emphasized that the program provides a good learning opportunity for college students to participate in nation building by helping young children to read and teaching parents on how they can improve the reading proficiency of their children at home.
“Hindi po tayo papayag na ang kabataan dito sa bayan ng mga maka-kata ay hirap magbasa. Kaisa po tayo ng ating pambansang bayani na si Gat Jose Rizal sa paniniwala na ang kabataan ay pag-asa ng bayan, kaya nararapat lamang na ating siguraduhin na ang kanilang kaalaman at kahandaan para sa isang maunlad na Bagong Pilipinas,” Usec. Punay explained during his presentation of the Tara, Basa! program.
(We will not allow children here in the town of poets to have difficulty reading. We have the same beliefs with our national hero, Gat Jose Rizal, that the youth is the hope of our nation, so it is only right that we equip them with knowledge and readiness towards a prosperous New Philippines.)
The undersecretary for innovations said that for the pilot implementation in Bulacan, some 1,583 students from Bulacan State University, Bulacan Polytechnic College, and City College of San Jose Del Monte are expected to benefit from the cash-for-work program in exchange for their service as tutors and YDWs.
The pilot implementation also targets to assist 13,188 incoming Grade 2 students from low-income families in the province who are struggling to read or are non-readers.
The MOA was signed by DSWD Field Office-3 (Central Luzon) Regional Director Venus Rebuldela; Governor Daniel Fernando represented by Provincial Administrator Antonette Constantino; Malolos City Mayor Atty. Christian Natividad represented by City Administrator Joel Eugenio; San Jose del Monte Mayor Arturo Robes represented by City Administrator Atty. Rizaldy Mendoza; Bulacan State BulSU President Dr. Teody San Andres; Bulacan Polytechnic College President Dr. Janet Valdez; and City College of San Jose del Monte President Dr. Roger Ambida.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Usec. Punay, Bulacan Vice Governor Alex Castro, BulSU Vice President Keno Piad, Department of Education (DepEd) Regional Office III Assistant Regional Director Jessie Amin, Ms. Victoria Sison, Dr. Cherry Amor Dizon, Ms. Rowena Gugulan, and Ms. Lolita SP Santos.
On March 8, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian led the scaled up implementation of Tara Basa in Cebu City. In the coming months, the tutoring program will also be launched in Quezon province, Western Samar, Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, and General Santos City. #
