CEBU City public schools recorded a sharp decline in learners in the lowest reading category during School Year 2025-2026, with many students remaining below expected proficiency levels by year-end.<\/p>\n
Data from the Department of Education (DepEd) Cebu City Division showed Low Emerging readers in Key Stage 1 fell from 15,733 learners, or 37.63 percent, at the beginning of the school year to 5,196 learners, or 12.31 percent, by the end of the school year.<\/p>\n
During the same period, learners reading at grade level rose from 4,925, or 11.78 percent, to 12,824, or 30.38 percent, while those classified as Transitioning increased from 12,459 to 16,091 learners.<\/p>\n
Council action<\/p>\n
The figures were contained in an official response dated May 11, 2026, signed by Legal Officer Vilpa Villabas and bearing the name of Schools Division Superintendent Nimfa Bongo. The response was sent in connection with Cebu City Council Resolution 17-3055-2026.<\/p>\n
The City Council passed the resolution on March 24 after citing a report that placed Cebu City at 46.85 percent for struggling early-grade readers. Councilor Joel Garganera authored the measure, which urged the Local School Board (LSB) to use more of the Special Education Fund (SEF) for para-teachers and tutors to strengthen remedial reading programs in public schools.<\/p>\n
The measure cited Republic Act (RA) 12028, or the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (Aral) Program Act, which allows local government units to support learning interventions using SEF resources.<\/p>\n
Assessment scope<\/p>\n
For the assessment cited in the response, Key Stage 1 covered Grades 1 to 3, Key Stage 2 covered Grades 4 to 6, and Key Stage 3 covered Grades 7 to 10. The groupings were used to track learner progress from the start to the end of the school year.<\/p>\n
DepEd Cebu City said it complied with DepEd Memorandum 064, series of 2025, the implementing guidelines for the Aral Program in Reading for Key Stages 1 to 3. The issuance covers baseline and progress assessments, targeted reading remediation and documentation of learner outcomes.<\/p>\n
Early grades<\/p>\n
In Key Stage 1, the number of assessed learners moved from 41,809 at the start of the school year to 42,212 by year-end. The Low Emerging category, which covers learners who can recognize some letters and sounds but struggle to read words, fell from 15,733 learners, or 37.63 percent, to 5,196 learners, or 12.31 percent.<\/p>\n
High Emerging, or learners who can read a few simple words but need assistance, decreased from 3,855 learners, or 9.22 percent, to 2,491 learners, or 5.9 percent. The Developing category, which covers learners who read simple sentences with difficulty, grew from 4,841 learners, or 11.58 percent, to 5,610 learners, or 13.29 percent.<\/p>\n
The Transitioning group, which covers learners who read with fluency and understand parts of a text, rose from 12,459 learners, or 29.8 percent, to 16,091 learners, or 38.12 percent. Reading at Grade Level learners increased from 4,925 learners, or 11.78 percent, to 12,824 learners, or 30.38 percent.<\/p>\n
Upper grades<\/p>\n
In Key Stage 2, the assessed population increased from 38,987 at the beginning of the school year to 39,450 at the end. Learners in the lowest group were listed as 3 Levels Down at the start and Frustration at the end, dropping from 13,704 learners, or 35.15 percent, to 7,472 learners, or 18.94 percent.<\/p>\n
The next group was listed as 2 Levels Down at the start and Instructional at the end, decreasing from 16,234 learners, or 41.64 percent, to 13,535 learners, or 34.31 percent. Learners listed as Grade Ready at the start and Independent at the end increased from 9,049 learners, or 23.21 percent, to 18,443 learners, or 46.75 percent.<\/p>\n
In Key Stage 3, the report listed 51,504 assessed learners at the start of the school year and 49,227 by year-end. The lowest group, listed as 3 Levels Down at the start and Frustration at the end, decreased from 23,094 learners, or 44.84 percent, to 8,502 learners, or 17.27 percent.<\/p>\n
The second group, listed as 2 Levels Down at the start and Instructional at the end, fell from 19,442 learners, or 37.75 percent, to 14,369 learners, or 29.19 percent. Learners who reached the Independent reading level rose from 8,967 learners, or 17.41 percent, to 26,356 learners, or 53.54 percent.<\/p>\n
Next steps<\/p>\n
Nestor Arandia, education program supervisor for English and division Aral focal person, prepared the data interpretation and summary. <\/p>\n
The Curriculum Implementation Division report showed measurable gains in reading proficiency across all key stages. It said some learners remained in struggling categories and would need sustained intervention, but the upward movement supported its current literacy programs and the push for better reading outcomes in the city.<\/p>\n
The council resolution was based on Edcom 2\u2019s LGU Playbook: Fixing the Foundations of Local Education, which listed Cebu City at 46.85 percent for struggling readers. The report raised concern over long-term learning gaps when early literacy issues are not addressed.<\/p>\n
To respond, the resolution urged the LSB to explore the use of SEF resources for hiring para-teachers and expanding remedial reading programs. It called on higher education institutions to support literacy work through community reading centers and volunteer tutoring in coordination with the Commission on Higher Education.<\/p>\n
The City Council has called for stronger community-based interventions, including weekend reading sessions and after-class tutorials at the barangay level, with support from retired teachers and senior citizens. <\/p>\n
DepEd Cebu City said sustained support from schools, local governments, parents and community stakeholders is needed to help struggling learners catch up and reach grade-level reading proficiency. \/ CAV <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CEBU City public schools recorded a sharp decline in learners in the lowest reading category during School Year…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211500,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-211499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}