Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian —Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate ratified on Tuesday the bicameral conference committee report on the disagreeing provisions of Senate Bill No. 1604 and House Bill No. 8210, otherwise known as the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning or ARAL Program Act.
Speaking at the chamber’s plenary session, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the Senate and the House panels have met and discussed to work out a reconciled version of our respective bills.
READ: Senate OKs Aral Program Act on 2nd reading
“We have come up with a piece of legislation that seeks to establish a free and effective national learning intervention program to ensure that all learners who are struggling in their lessons, especially in reading, mathematics, and science will be able to attain the competencies in their respective grade levels,” said Gatchalian.
According to the senator, who also heads the chamber’s panel on basic education, at the core of the ARAL Program Act is the commitment to impart knowledge from qualified tutors to the covered learners from Kindergarten to Grade 10.
“Based on the projections of the National Economic and Development Authority, this legislation is crucial to mitigating potential economic losses exceeding 10 trillion pesos over the next four decades,” said Gatchalian.
“[It] will simultaneously advance both learning recovery and economic recovery, steering us toward a brighter and more prosperous future for our learners and our nation,” he added.
The ARAL Program Act aims to ensure the creation of a national learning intervention program which will be grounded on systematic tutorial sessions, well-designed intervention plans and learning resources, and effective and accessible delivery modes for tutors and learners, among others.
Under the proposed ARAL program, essential learning competencies under the K to 12 curriculum, including the subjects of language, mathematics, and science, as well as reading and numeracy will be prioritized.