BAGUIO CITY (PIA) — The Department of Education (DepEd)-Cordillera is urging the local government units in the region to support the implementation of the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program.
According to DepEd-CAR, the ARAL Program is among the initiatives highlighted by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in his fourth State of the Nation Address, and the aim of the program is to address learning gaps and support struggling students.
DepEd-CAR Regional Director Estela Leon-Cariño explained that Section 20 of the ARAL Program Act, states that DepEd shall collaborate with LGUs to provide safe learning environments for face-to-face learning tutorials.
“Sana ‘yung tutorial natin, hindi kailangan sa school, if you have some in your area lalo na kung wala namang ginagawa ang mga bata, kahit Saturday or part of their Sunday or holidays ay may tutorial,” Cariño said during the DepEd interfacing activity with LGU stakeholders on Aug. 15, 2025 in Baguio City.
She said that some LGUs have already offered spaces such as the barangay hall for the conduct of tutorials.
Cariño added that the education sector must partner with LGUs to promote the program for potential tutors in the higher education institutions, and to encourage parents and parent-substitutes to include their children in the ARAL program.
She also highlighted Section 21 stating that parents and parent-substitutes shall enhance their parental roles by assisting their children through home learning activities in making significant contributions.
The DepEd, in partnership with the LGUs and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), may likewise initiate home learning and support activities, programs, or similar initiatives for parent and parent-substitutes of learners under the ARAL program.
“Sana instead of letting them play with their cellphones or kung ano diyan, we let them enroll in this ARAL program,” she said.
Cariño said the program focuses on literacy, however, she instructed the Schools Divisions offices in the Cordillera to include numeracy and science in the tutorials.
She mentioned that various programs, in line with the ARAL program, were already rolled out in Baguio City, including the Tara Basa program of the DSWD and the Barangay Pagbasa in partnership with the City LGU and barangay LGUs.
Cariño also challenged the LGUs in the region to adopt the “Bawat Bata Makababasa Program”, a tutorial for learners every day for 20 days.
Aside from the ARAL program, DepEd-CAR is implementing different activities to reach the learners, especially now that the Cordillera is among the regions with a lot of class suspensions due to the effects of the successive tropical cyclones and the southwest monsoon.
Among their initiatives are the EduKahon or the compilation of activities that can be given to learners in times of class suspensions, and the tech-enhanced project, among others. **DEG-PIA CAR
