Nearly ₱9 billion under the 2026 national budget will expand the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program to accelerate learning recovery, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian assured.
Based on the Department of Education’s Middle of School Year Assessments, Grade 3 to 6 learners improved their reading readiness by an average of five points, while Grades 7 to 10 learners improved between six to nine points.
These gains affect 3.42 million Grades 3 to 6 learners and 1.72 million learners in Grades 7 to 10, moving them closer to grade-level reading proficiency.
“Bahagi ng makasaysayang pondong inilaan natin para sa sektor ng edukasyon ngayong taon ang buong suporta para sa pagpapatupad ng ARAL Program,” Gatchalian said in a news release on Sunday, January 11.
Gatchalian, sponsor of the ‘Academic Recovery and Learning (ARAL) Program Act,’ added that the ₱9 billion allocation “is an important step to help us curb the education crisis we have been facing for a long time.”
Under the 2026 budget, ₱8.96 billion is earmarked to engage 440,000 tutors and reach 6.7 million learners for School Year 2026–2027.