Mandaue City and Cebu City frontrunners in basic literacy

CEBU, Philippines — The cities of Mandaue and Cebu have emerged as frontrunners in basic literacy among the Philippines' highly urbanized cities (HUCs), the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.

According to the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), Mandaue City recorded a basic literacy rate of 95.2 percent, securing the fifth spot nationwide, while Cebu City followed closely with 94.7 percent, ranking eighth.

While Mandaue and Cebu cities excelled among HUCs, provinces like Apayao and Benguet lead in both basic and functional literacy rates nationwide.

Apayao achieved a basic literacy rate of 95.2 percent, while Benguet recorded the highest functional literacy rate at 87.9 percent.

With the recent recognition, DepEd-7 Director Salustiano Jimenez, in an interview, pointed to the tangible support provided by local governments as a major contributor to the cities’ literacy achievements.

“Ang Mandaue City ug ang Cebu City daghan sila programs, especially computerization," said Jimenez.

Jimenez cited Mandaue City’s tablet distribution program as an example. Secondary students in public schools received tablets, while learners from Grades 5 and 6 in elementary are also given devices to access lessons and reading materials.

Cebu City, according to Jimenez, also benefits from its proximity to technology.

Jimenez emphasized that the key to sustained success lies in synergy between DepEd and local government units (LGUs).

“Ang local government unit, kung very supportive sa atong mga school manindot gyud,” he said, noting that LGUs provide facilities DepEd cannot always fund, such as speech laboraties and science laboratories.

Such incremental improvements added up over time, creating more conducive learning environments.

However, he also acknowledged that there are challenges even for top-performing cities.

“Number one is sustainability,” he said, adding, “If we have all this technology, how can we sustain them?”

He warned that without consistent upgrades and support, such tools could become obsolete.

Another issue is enhancement.

"The technology that we are using right now, will no longer be good after two years, three years,” Jimenez explained, urging stakeholders not to be complacent even with high rankings.

Asked whether new local leaders are expected to support literacy programs, Jimenez replied affirmatively.

“Yeah, we do. That’s why I also encourage our superintendents and school heads to coordinate closely with LGU,” he said.

Despite concerns about national literacy trends, Jimenez refrained from giving full assurance that Central Visayas is “okay.”

Instead, he put it up as a challenge: “Since we are already here on top, we need to sustain that, and even do more.”

He urged the public not to become complacent. He said there is a need to support the schools and the learners, whether they are already on top, or they are at the bottom.” — (FREEMAN)