MAY 5.58 milyong high school graduates ang kinokonsidera bilang “functionally illiterate” o mayroong problema sa ‘komprehensyon at pang-unawa’.

Ito ang nilinaw ni Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) assistant national statistician Adrian Cerezo sa House committee briefing sa kabila ng mga ulat na ang bilang ng junior high school graduates na tinawag na “functional illiterate” o iyong mayroong problema sa komprehensyon at pang-unawa ay umabot na di umano sa 18.9 milyon.

“We’d like to point out that the difference of 18.965 million between the old and new definition…does not represent only those who graduated from senior high and high school graduates in the old curriculum,” ang sinabi ni PSA assistant national statistician Adrian Cerezo.

“[It] stands for all 10 to 64 years old who have functional literacy deficiencies regardless of educational attainment,” aniya pa rin.

“The estimated number of high school graduates, including junior high completers 10 to 64 years old, who are basic literate but are not functionally literate because of lack of comprehension skills stands at 5.58 million in 2024,” ang tinuran ni Cerezo.

Sa kabilang dako, sinabi ni House committee on Basic Education and Culture chairman Roman Romulo na ang 5.58 milyong indibidwal na nananatiling hindi maintindihan ang kanilang binabasa maging ito man ay mayroong high school diploma, ay dapat maging sanhi ng pag-aalala.

Tinukoy ng Department of Education (DepEd) na 18.9 milyong Pilipino ang kinokonsidera bilang “functionally illiterate” base sa resulta ng 2024 functional literacy, education, and mass media survey (FLEMMS) nanggaling mula sa mas malawak na pangkat ng edad, at at hindi lamang high school graduate.

“These people who are functionally illiterate can read, write, and compute, but struggle with comprehension, regardless of their educational attainment,” ayon sa departamento.

Sinabi pa ni Cerezo na 18.9 million, mahigit sa 13 milyong katao ang hindi nakatapos ng junior o senior high school.

(CHRISTIAN DALE)