Friday, October 31, 2008 DepEd opens reading hub in Lanao
IN A bid to further improve the reading ability of students, the Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday opened another Library Hub in Lanao del Norte, the eight of such facility in Mindanao.
DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus said with the launch, about 100,000 public elementary and secondary students nationwide can now hone their literacy skills and love for reading.
"The Library Hubs can not only instill love for reading among public school children, but can also further improve out high literacy rate, over which our country has laid a claim," Lapus said.
Aside from Lapus, also in attendance during the project's launch were Maigo, Lanao del Norte Mayor Hernando Granaderos and Lanao del Norte Governor Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo.
Lapus said by 2010, DepEd aims to build at least one Library Hub in every schools division in the country. There are 189 divisions nationwide.
"We will be able to meet this target but we call on the local government and the private sector to ensure the continuity of this initiative," the DepEd chief said.
He added: "It is never too late to build a nation of readers. The notion that the Philippines is not a reading nation cannot be changed overnight -- but can be changed gradually, one Library Hub at a time."
There are 70 Library Hubs all over the country that housed value-laden children's books for preschoolers to Grade 6 and high schoolers most of which are award-winning and highly recommended by reading experts.
Another 35 sites are being renovated for use for the project. The site and the cost of renovation of the area are contributed by the local government units (LGUs) while the DepEd provides the books, furniture and training for teachers who will man the hub.
The Library Hub project was launched in 2003 to develop love for and habit of reading among public school pupils. It is a partnership between DepEd and a sponsor, which may be an LGU, a private company, or a non-government organization (NGO).
It was conceptualized by DepEd in response to the problem of inadequate books and teaching resources supplies in the public schools system in the country.
"Since the establishment of libraries in over 40,000 public schools is quite prohibitive, the DepEd's system-wide solution is to partner with LGUs, NGO and private corporations in providing educational infrastructure. We are glad that one of the best managed local governments in our country recognizes the very vital role of a library hub by for our students in the area" Lapus said.
According to the official, the Library Hub has 25,000 books worth P3 million.
These are value-laden children's books for preschoolers up to Grade VI and high school students. Currently, there are 135 local titles and 139 foreign titles available in the hub, he said.
The hub also provides access to a multitude of storybooks, anywhere from 25,000 to 400,000 books, bundled by subject area, grade or year level for easy access. These bundles can be lent to schools for 25 calendar day periods, after which the schools must return the bundles for them to be eligible to borrow another bundle.
DepEd said the program has already shown positive results citing last year's study on Grade three students whose reading and comprehension skills have exhibited a significant improvement.
About 1.8 million pupils, he added, took the Reading Comprehension Test for English and Filipino last year with the result showing an increase from the previous 49.98 mean percentage score (MPS) to 59.57 MPS.
Likewise, Filipino reading comprehension test showed that students achieved an MPS of 60.23 percent in 2007 compared to 49.21 percent in 2006.
The combined 2007 MPS is 60.23 percent against 49.21 percent in 2006. (AH/Sunnex)
