By Prof. Sarex Dalida Dipol, Jr.

Various volunteers from higher education institutions in the Philippines join in Brigada Pagbasa Initiative of the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency (PNVSCA).

On March 17, 2025, the Brigada Pagbasa Initiative trained extension officers, educators, and volunteers in various higher education institutions in the country. The participants learned the importance of volunteerism and how to conduct assessments to determine students’ reading and comprehension levels. Various higher education institutions in the country shared their best practices to combat their target communities’ poor literacy and numeracy. In Western Visayas, only Aklan State University and Central Philippine University participated in this 3-day training. This event was held last March 17-19, 2025, at the Benguet State University-La Trinidad Campus.

This training stemmed from the alarming report of the World Bank, where at least nine out of 10 Filipino children aged 10 have poor learning, struggling to comprehend what they read and write, even in simple texts. This report is supported by the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) in 2022, in which Filipino students are very poor in math, reading, and science.

Therefore, various government and non-government organizations orchestrated literacy and numeracy workshops, seminars, and trainings. One is the Brigada Pagbasa Program, an initiative of World Vision supported by the Department of Education and the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency (PNVSCA) of the National Economic Development Authority.

Aside from training in Brigada Pagbasa Initiative, the Benguet State University shared its extension works, research and development, and other community engagement initiatives with the participants.