Cebu faces a major challenge in ensuring that children develop basic reading skills early, with about 31,600 learners in Grades 1 to 3 still unable to read at their grade level by the end of School Year 2025-2026, according to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2).
EDCOM 2 Executive Director Dr. Karol Mark R. Yee presented the data during the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation’s ECCD Convergence 2026 in Cebu on Oct. 1, where the commission highlighted the link between early childhood development, nutrition and learning outcomes.
Based on the Department of Education’s Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA), the Schools Division Office (SDO) Cebu recorded about 13,300 Key Stage 1 learners, or 11 percent, classified as struggling readers. This placed SDO Cebu third among school divisions nationwide in terms of the number of struggling readers.
The commission also identified Talisay, Balamban, Liloan, Consolacion and Madridejos, among other local government units, as having large concentrations of struggling readers, pointing to the need for targeted and context-specific interventions.
Yee warned that learning gaps can become more difficult to address when reading difficulties are not resolved before learners reach Grade 4.
Data cited in EDCOM 2’s final report, “Turning Point: A Decade of Necessary Reform,” showed that reading and comprehension gaps widen in later grade levels, with many junior and senior high school students still unable to read and comprehend texts at the level expected for their grade.
The commission also linked children’s learning outcomes to conditions before they enter school.
About 25,000 children below five years old in Cebu Province were classified as stunted based on the National Nutrition Council’s 2025 Operation Timbang Plus report.
Research cited by EDCOM 2 found that stunted children are 16 percent more likely to fail a grade. The commission also noted that cognitive damage associated with stunting after 24 months of age cannot be reversed.
Under the National Education Plan 2026-2035, EDCOM 2 aims to increase the proportion of Key Stage 1 learners reading at grade level from 47.74 percent at the end of School Year 2024-2025 to 75 percent by 2028, 90 percent by 2031 and 95 percent by 2035.
Yee said Cebu should establish measurable local targets for reducing stunting, improving access to early childhood education and addressing reading difficulties among young learners.
“If these are our national targets, what targets will Cebu as a province set in terms of reducing stunting, improving access to early childhood education, and also addressing illiteracy at Grade 3? Is it improving by 5 or 10 percent? Whichever the number is, it is important to quantify so that we know how much effort and resources we all need to bring together, to ensure that no Cebuano child is left behind,” Yee said.
He said Cebu has resources that could help address the education and nutrition challenges, including its universities, civil society organizations and local governments.
“With the many universities here in Cebu, the active engagement of civil society organizations such as RAFI, and the determination of the local government, I am sure that Cebu can make significant progress in education and nutrition in the years ahead,” he said.
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