31-07-2025
Teachers urged to ‘stop shaming students' amid comprehension crisis
Students are often shamed instead of supported in the classroom — and this culture may be contributing to the country's worsening comprehension crisis, an education leader warned during the release of the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) on Thursday.
'Ang teachers ang nagsi-shame sa learners... kaya kailangan piliin natin kung sino ang nasa teaching profession,' said Dr. Majah-Leah V. Ravago, Director of Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization – Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO INNOTECH), during the media forum held after the Philippine Statistics Authority's (PSA's) presentation of national literacy data.
(Teachers are the ones shaming learners... that's why we need to be deliberate in choosing who enters the teaching profession.)
According to the survey, the country's basic literacy rate — or the ability to read and write simple messages — stood at 93.1% among Filipinos aged 10 to 64. However, the functional literacy rate, which includes comprehension, dropped to just 70.8%.
The gap highlights that while many Filipinos can read and compute, a significant portion cannot understand or apply what they read — a problem that worsens with age, region, and socioeconomic conditions.
'Nakikita natin sa mga probinsya, marami tayong naririnig na: 'Mahina ka sa math? Mag-teacher ka na lang,'' she said.
(In the provinces, we often hear: 'You're weak in math? Just become a teacher.')
'Yung ganung pananaw, kailangan nating baguhin.'
(That kind of mindset, we need to change it.)
Ravago's remarks came after PSA chief Dr. Claire Dennis S. Mapa confirmed that reading comprehension is now the primary challenge, not basic literacy, with many learners able to read and compute but unable to analyze, infer, or draw conclusions from what they read.
'Marunong sila magbasa, marunong sila magsulat, marunong sila mag-compute pero ang problema, yung comprehension,' Mapa said.
(They know how to read, write, and compute — but the problem is understanding what these mean.)
Ravago echoed the need for foundational learning reforms and highlighted the role of teachers in shaping not just academic performance, but a student's sense of confidence and belonging in the classroom.
Reforming the profession
To improve comprehension, Ravago proposes:
Raising standards for entry into the teaching profession
Training teachers not just in pedagogy, but in positive classroom culture
Increasing salaries and reducing non-teaching tasks to attract top talent
'Let's make the teaching profession attractive because they are the shapers of our learners,' Ravago stressed.
While acknowledging that efforts have been made, she also noted that more is needed to uplift teachers and prevent harmful practices like shaming, especially in struggling schools.
The call echoes long-standing concerns among learners, parents, and education advocates — that improving how teachers teach and treat students is as critical as upgrading curriculum and infrastructure.
The full 2024 FLEMMS data, including literacy levels by province and city, will be released later this year via The survey, conducted in 2024, covered over 572,000 individuals across 177,000 households, making it the most extensive literacy study in the country's history. — RF, GMA Integrated News
