Gatchalian: P9B from 2026 budget for learning recovery program
MANILA, Philippines — Nearly P9 billion under the 2026 national budget will expand the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (Aral) Program to accelerate learning recovery, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said on Sunday.
According to the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Middle of School Year Assessments, Grade 3 to 6 learners improved their reading readiness by an average of five points, while Grades 7 to 10 learners had improvements of between six and nine points.
Gatchalian said these gains translate to 3.42 million Grades 3 to 6 learners and 1.72 million learners in Grades 7 to 10, inching closer to grade-level reading proficiency.
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“Part of the historic funding we have allocated to the education sector this year is full support for the implementation of the ARAL Program,” the senator said in a statement.
Gatchalian, sponsor of the Academic Recovery and Learning Program Act, said the P8.96-billion allocation from the 2026 national budget “is an important step to help us curb the education crisis we have been facing for a long time.”
About 440,000 tutors will be tapped through the allocation which also covers 6.7 million learners for School Year 2026-2027.
