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In an era where learning gaps have widened due to the pandemic and systemic challenges, the Philippine government has launched a game-changing initiative: the ARAL Program. But beyond DepEd’s visible role in this academic recovery strategy, the heart of its strength lies in a quiet but powerful truth — the synergy among implementing agencies. This post looks at RULE VIII of the ARAL Program Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) from a fresh, systems-thinking perspective, underscoring how inter-agency collaboration is essential in shaping the program’s success.
🏫 DepEd as the Lead, Not the Lone Actor 🔑
While the Department of Education (DepEd) is the designated lead agency of the ARAL Program, it doesn't operate in isolation. According to the IRR of the ARAL Program, DepEd’s role is more than administrative — it is strategic and integrative. It is tasked with:
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Conducting annual reviews of the program to ensure relevance and responsiveness;
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Identifying learners and tutors in need of digital access or academic support;
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Creating a nationally free learning intervention system to tackle core subject difficulties in reading, mathematics, and science;
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Ensuring a pipeline of qualified tutors;
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Facilitating professional development, parental involvement, and funding mechanisms;
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And perhaps most critically, serving as a conductor of a complex orchestra of government bodies.
But the real story here is how DepEd orchestrates partnerships across education, technology, local governance, and social welfare sectors to bring ARAL to life.
🎓 CHED: Strengthening the Tutor Backbone 👩🏫
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is more than a peripheral player in this setup. It takes on the critical role of capacity building — working alongside DepEd to train and certify future tutors. According to CHED’s mandate in the IRR, its efforts focus on ensuring quality foundational instruction, a crucial foundation if we want ARAL to be more than a remedial patch.
This is particularly significant as CHED taps into higher education institutions (HEIs), which become recruitment grounds for future mentors. CHED ensures the tutors are not just plentiful, but pedagogically sound, aligning with what research by the World Bank identifies as a core pillar of effective learning recovery: tutor quality.
🏘️ DILG: Empowering LGUs for Grassroots Engagement 🗳️
Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) ensures that ARAL takes root at the barangay level. It does this through:
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Guiding LGUs on resource allocation, particularly for para-teachers via Special Education Funds (SEF);
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Supporting information drives to increase participation;
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Facilitating community mapping to identify learning gaps.
This reveals a deeper principle: academic recovery is not only a national concern — it’s also a community one. According to a report by UNESCO, community-based educational campaigns are essential in post-crisis education interventions. DILG’s role echoes that global best practice.
📡 DICT: Bringing Connectivity to Every Corner 🌐
One of the less spotlighted but critically important actors in this initiative is the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). Tasked with expanding digital access, DICT is instrumental in leveraging:
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The Public Education Network (PEN);
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DepEd TV and DepEd Commons;
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Digital tools to bridge geographical learning gaps.
In remote and underserved areas, these tools become lifelines of learning. DICT’s partnership ensures inclusive access to quality education, echoing what the Asian Development Bank (ADB) identifies as key to closing rural-urban education gaps: digital infrastructure.
🧑👩👧👦 DSWD: Supporting Learners Through Families 🫂
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) steps in not in classrooms but in homes and communities. By linking the ARAL Program with the Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program, DSWD helps create an ecosystem of support for learners. It engages parents and guardians in the recovery process, making them active participants rather than passive observers.
Research by Save the Children confirms that parental involvement is directly correlated with student success, particularly in lower grades. DSWD’s function is not just complementary — it is transformative in reshaping the home as a site of learning.
📺 NTC: Regulating Broadcast Equity for Education 📶
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) holds regulatory power to mandate broadcast compliance with ARAL provisions. Its unique role includes:
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Requiring free access to DepEd-hosted platforms for disadvantaged students;
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Ensuring airtime allocation for video lessons;
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Monitoring telecommunications’ support in program delivery.
This taps into media regulation as a tool for equity. According to UNICEF, access to televised lessons and digital content dramatically boosts reach in low-connectivity areas — especially when it’s cost-free and government-mandated.
🤝 The Power of Partnership: Beyond Inter-Agency Collaboration 🧩
SECTION 25 of the IRR enshrines the need for DepEd to partner with other agencies and stakeholders, underscoring that the ARAL Program is a national endeavor. These partnerships must align with existing laws and uphold accountability and impact, setting the tone for public-private sector synergy.
Educational think tanks like the Brookings Institution argue that multi-stakeholder collaborations are the future of resilient education systems. This rule in the IRR echoes that trend — a signal that Philippine education policy is evolving toward inclusive governance.
🏁 Conclusion: ARAL as a Model for Inter-Sectoral Educational Reform 🏆
The ARAL Program is not just about catching up; it’s about building forward better. What makes it potentially revolutionary is not just the curriculum, the tutors, or the funding — it’s the institutional design that weaves together agencies like DepEd, CHED, DILG, DICT, DSWD, and NTC into a shared mission.
This is governance in action — a learning recovery program built on a foundation of collaboration, connectivity, and community engagement. For the Filipino learner, this means a shot not just at academic recovery, but at educational equity.