PH Low Reading Comprehension Linked to Lack Of Access To Books
The Philippines scored lowest among 79 nations in reading comprehension in 2018, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Programs for International Student Assessment (PISA). The average reading score in the Philippines was 340, which was 100 points lower than the OECD average of 487.
Nearly everyone has been forced to stay at home since the virus began, and those who lack the resources to meet their reading demands are likely to fall behind as a result of the pandemic.
The Philippines’ archipelagic geography, with its 7,100 islands which makes book transportation expensive, according to National Book Development Board (NBDB) deputy executive director Anna Katarina Rodriguez.
It isn’t impossible to obtain a book. Students can access a library of books and reading materials at schools and educational institutions. It’s crucial to keep in mind, too, that not everyone has access to education or can attend these schools. To some extent, these school libraries are free.
Many libraries still prioritize face-to-face interaction as the primary means of providing service. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted libraries this year. The government mandated physical separation measures as well as other health standards.
Lockdowns and community quarantines were enacted in the Philippines from March 2020 to the present, forcing libraries to close temporarily. Those libraries that have reopened must adhere to strict standards in order to prevent the virus from spreading further.
Authorities’ assistance is likewise limited. The absence of local government support for public libraries is reflected in the deplorable state of many of them – bad sites, decrepit furniture, leaking roofs, and worn-out and outdated volumes are just a few of the obvious indications. People’s awareness of libraries has also decreased as a result of the bad library conditions, particularly in local communities.
According to Dr. Dennis Mapa, Dean of the University of the Philippines’ School of Statistics, just 11% of Filipinos aged 18 and up borrowed books from libraries. According to Mapa, library awareness was especially low at the barangay level, with only 12% of respondents knowing about a library in their neighborhood.
A lack of public reading facilities and libraries exacerbates the situation; the county’s public library service is almost non-existent.
Municipalities (50%) have the most public libraries in the country, followed by barangays (21%), cities (19%), and provinces (19%), according to a report released by the Philippine National Library in 2019. The Philippines’ overall number of public libraries, on the other hand, falls considerably short of the statutory aim of 3%.
Public libraries are likewise underfunded, as has been reported. Even if funds were available, extending the book supply in public libraries would be difficult for the National Library and local governments. A similar report emphasized the scarcity of employees and workers who are supposed to staff these libraries.
The COVID 19 pandemic widened the gap between the ‘priveleged’ and the disadvantaged students. Reading is the foundation of higher learning, such as mathematics, sciences and social studies. Yet studies have shown that Filipino students can barely read well even when they reach high school.
Reading strengthens the brain, builds vocabulary and prevents cognitive decline. However, not all has the access to read books. Opportunities are not for everyone, or rather, they are not within everyone’s financial means.
References:
Cruz, N. S. R. (2016, May 28). It’s expensive to love books. INQUIRER.net. Retrieved from: https://opinion.inquirer.net/94946/its-expensive-to-love-books
Macapagal, M. J. R. (2018). National library of the philippines. http://web.nlp.gov.ph/nlp/sites/default/files/14Jun2019/Status%20of%20Philippine%20P ublic%20Libraries%20and%20librarianship.pdf
San Juan, R. (2019, December 3). Philippines lowest in reading comprehension among 79 countries. Philstar.com. Retrieved from: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/12/03/1974002/philippines-lowest-reading- comprehension-among-79-countries
Tomacruz, S. (2018, October 1). Filipinos barely know if there are libraries near their homes. RAPPLER. Retrieved from: https://www.rappler.com/nation/213038-filipinos-awareness- libraries-readership-survey-2017/
This blog is very informative. I hope lot of people especially children will be given oppurtunity to access in the library since the covid 19 pandemic cases in pH are low .
Thanks for sharing the information with us, This article is very informative. Children will be given an opportunity to have an access on books.
I hope this blog can help especially young children affected their studies due to Covid 19 pandemic
beacuse increasing access to books and giving children the choice to choose what they want to read improves academic performance and attitudes toward reading and learning.
A really a good content for a blog. Hopefully children would have more access now.
Thanks for this ! presence of library increases children’s academic success, vocabulary development, attention and job attainment
Wow. Very good. This is very informative 🙂
I hope that this article will serve as an eye-opener for our government to give importance to libraries since reading is essential yet not all of us have access to this especially in this pandemic times.
Very relevant & informative! Great article! 👍🏻
Very informative
This article is very informative. I hope everyone in the community will be given the opportunity to access libraries since COVID 19 cases are starting to decrease.
Very nice content. Thanks for sharing
Very informative article. I hope that the government will alot more budget to the creation of public libraries or E-libraries.
The statistical figure speaks itself and I agree. Filipino students have poor reading comprehension as the lack of resources and perhaps the effect of pandemic hinders them to have a good quality of education.
This is a very good content. This blog will be useful especially for the children during this time of pandemic.
This blog is informative and was base on reliable sources. I hope more children will be given a chance to have an access on books since reading really strengthens brain.
Very informative. Thanks for sharing this!
“Reading strengthens the brain, builds vocabulary and prevents cognitive decline.” I couldn’t agree more. This blog is very relevant.
I hope the government will also give focus on funding public libraries for wider influence to peoe especially the children
It would be really helpful if every municipality has libraries for children who need access to books they want to read but can’t afford to buy one. This ARTICLE IS AN EYE-OPENER especially to our government.
this article is veey informative ,we all know that since pandemic occur we are all lacking access to our libraries in school due to lockdowns and cancellation of face to face classes, it is important i think that our goverment implement actions about this kind of situations cause it looks like childrens relys only in the internet and we could not deny it. this is great article keep it up.
Now that e-learning becane a trend, i hope the government will do something so that we can easily access ebooks.
Very informative!
Very informative and relevant article 🙂 Good job!
This blog is especially relevant in today’s society. Interesting insight!x
I hope this article will serve as an eye opener to the authority to make available resources to address this kind of issue in the Philippines.
Kudos to the author 👏 yes this is very true! We need our government to focus on funding public libraries
A very timely matter to discuss. Under several limitations posed by the current situation, it has become more difficult to making learning materials accessible to students. I hope this article will reach more audience.
This article is very timely and informative! Hoping to read more blogs like this one 💝
This is very interesting!
Thank you for this very informative and relevant news!
Very interesting. Thanks for the info!
Thanks for sharing!
I hope this article will serve as an eye opener to the authority to make available resources to address this kind of issue in the Philippines because we believe that literacy is one of the key factors by which a country’s overall competence and We needto strengthen the programs to help resolve this issue
Thank you for sharing this information to us, This article is very informative. This is great help for children because they will be given an opportunity to have an access to books.
This article is an eye opener on the current setbacks of our country especially in the education sector. May this will somehow influence and drive every stakeholders to take action.
This is a very informative blog. Hope this will help the children to enhance their education.
Very informative article since some students are not previledge enough to buy gadgets and can only access to books.
This blog contains a lot of useful information for everyone. I’m hoping that more blogs like this one will be published to help people understand the PH situation, particularly in terms of learning and education, and to raise awareness.
Very informative
Thank for sharing this problem! We have already an idea of what we are going to add in designing our youth learning hub proposal.
This is very informative, thanks for sharing!
The statistical figure speaks itself and I agree. Filipino students have poor reading comprehension as the lack of resources and perhaps the effect of pandemic hinders them to have a good quality of education.
Very informative and relevant as well. Thanks for this!
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for writing and sharing such information. Let’s make reading a habit!
Woww ! Very informative. I hope the government will do something to this kind of issue and help children would have more access now during this time of pandemic.
Very good
Thanks for sharing this information ! the simple act of reading with our children has a profound impact on their educational development. By giving them choices and increasing access to books, we can make a lasting difference in the lives of those who need us most.