PASIG CITY -- Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones extended her gratitude to partners and organizations and acknowledged their part in closing education gaps during the Brigada Pagbasa Partner's Convergence on Wednesday.

“It is good to hear voices from those who believed [in] the Department. Thank you for your initiatives. This event aims to provide a platform for the sharing of good practices. We need good news, we need success, we need hope, and we need to bolster our beliefs that there is something good in continuing education despite difficulties,” the Education Chief said in her opening message.

Brigada Pagbasa is an offshoot program of the Brigada Eskwela focused on promoting literacy and numeracy of learners amidst the crises faced by the education sector. It is in collaboration with World Vision Development Foundation, Inc. and with various partners like E-net Philippines, which is comprised of 100 organizations, EDUCO, Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc., Save the Children among others, with the unified purpose of delivering education for all.

“I congratulate, with all my heart, World Vision and our External Partnerships Service under Usec. Toni Umali for its initiative in forming, leading, and conceptualizing the idea of Brigada Pagbasa. Hopefully, this movement will help synergize efforts and resources to address education-related challenges and also create opportunities for us to work together,” she added.

Brigada Pagbasa aims to cultivate a culture of reading among learners for them to love reading books, develop writing and reading skills, and build skills for expression. The program is helping those learners who need further assistance in developing their literacy and numeracy skills which include the marginalized, excluded, and underprivileged children found in indigent communities and last-mile schools.

“Through our partnership, with the guidance of the Department of Education, we are confident, despite of the pandemic, that our learners across the country will be able to learn better and grow up to become productive and responsible Filipinos,” Executive Director of World Vision Development Foundation, Inc. Rommel B. Fuerte expressed.

With over 17 partner organizations, the Brigada Pagbasa movement created numerous literacy programs like Go Bike, A-Z Food Literacy, and Hugpong sa Pagtuon taga Magallon that displayed the partners’ collective advocacy to teach literacy to Filipino learners. The partners also took part in mobilization, teacher training, and event sponsorship of activities.

“Hindi po namin ito kakayanin mag-isa. Dito po papasok ang konsepto ng pakikipag-ugnayan sa ating mga partners. Sa pamamagitan po nito, nagkaroon po tayo ng mga community learning facilitators at Brigada Pagbasa volunteers,” Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs, External Partnerships and Project Management Service Tonisito M.C. Umali, Esq. shared. (DILG)