Education Secretary Sonny Angara called for sustained investments in targeted learning interventions as the Philippines recorded its strongest performance yet in Reading, Mathematics, and Science in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
The 2025 PISA results showed significant gains among Filipino learners, with the Philippines emerging as the fastest-improving education system in Reading over a 10-year trend, gaining 38 points overall.
Compared with the country’s 2022 performance, Reading scores increased by 20 points to 367, while Science rose by 17 points to 373 and Mathematics improved by 16 points to 371.
Despite the gains and the increase in the number of learners reaching minimum proficiency levels, Angara stressed that much work remains to be done, with a majority of 15-year-old Filipino learners still performing below baseline proficiency and requiring targeted academic support.
To maintain the momentum, the Department of Education (DepEd) is appealing to lawmakers to restore funding for the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program under the Fiscal Year 2027 budget. The program received no allocation in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
“President Bongbong Marcos brought us into the Department of Education with a clear mission: elevate the quality of basic education across the country,” Angara said. “These latest PISA gains are an encouraging checkpoint, not the finish line. They prove that system-wide progress is possible, but they also highlight why sustained funding and structured interventions like ARAL remain non-negotiable.”
During School Year 2025–2026, ARAL formed part of DepEd’s intensified learning recovery efforts, providing targeted assistance to learners who were struggling academically.
The program contributed to a decline in the number of struggling readers nationwide, from 6.7 million to 2.2 million, while the number of learners demonstrating grade-level reading readiness increased from 3.3 million to 5.8 million.
DepEd is also strengthening foundational literacy through complementary initiatives, including the distribution of storybooks to Kindergarten to Grade 3 learners, the establishment of Reading Nooks in schools, and the continued implementation of the nationwide Bayang Bumabasa Initiative.
These efforts include tailored early-grade reading and literacy improvement plans designed to address learners’ specific needs.
Angara emphasized that strengthening reading skills at an early age is essential because literacy serves as a foundation for learning across other academic subjects.
To support these initiatives, DepEd is seeking a PHP16.03 billion supplemental FY 2027 budget for Learning Recovery, with the bulk of the proposed funding intended for the ARAL Program.
The requested allocation would cover remediation consultations, learning resources, training for DepEd tutors, the ARAL Summer Program, compensation for external tutors, and teaching overload honoraria.
Alongside academic recovery, DepEd is also prioritizing learner welfare through its School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP). The proposed 2027 NEP includes PHP11.43 billion for the program, which is expected to benefit 3.69 million learners.
The allocation will cover all Kindergarten and Grade 1 learners, as well as wasted and severely wasted learners from Grade 2 onwards.
“The determination of the Filipino child is undeniable. Our job in government is to match that drive with real resources,” Angara said. “Under President Marcos’ vision for education, we are ensuring that these gains translate from numbers on a report to real capabilities in every classroom.”
