ARAL Law: How It Helps Families Address Education Struggles

Considering how many curriculum changes the Philippines has had, the ARAL Law hopes to make up for the lost time from all those transitions in families

It’s no secret that Filipino students have been struggling to compete academically against their global counterparts. Thus, President Bongbong Marcos signed the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Law, or what we know as the ARAL Law last October 18, 2024. Created to help address the learning gaps found in many Filipino students, the law aims to “create a national learning intervention program” to help other students catch up.

Based on the law, the tutorial services and remedial classes appear to be free. In a statement from Education Secretary Sonny Angara, the law would enlist teachers, para-teachers, tutors, and even teachers who are still awaiting their professional licenses to close the learning gaps.

“With ARAL, we can help students regain their momentum and achieve the learning milestones they deserve,” he reveals.

What the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Law provides

The Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Law, based on the DepEd’s initial press release, would allow students to enlist in remedial classes. However, the subjects of these classes would depend on the grade. For Kinder, enlisted teachers in the ARAL program would focus on “building the foundational skills to strengthen their literacy and numeracy competencies.” Grades 1 to 10 will focus on essential learning areas, especially in reading and math. Science would be the main focus of students in Grades 3 to 10.

These classes are available during summer break. However, there’s still a minimum requirement these students must meet before availing of these classes. As to how they’ll see if our kids do need the classes, they’ll probably have a test for them to take. The test will most likely check if our kids have the required competencies or are in urgent need of academic help.

Education Struggles: An Issue Exacerbated by the Pandemic

Education is a right — a fact stated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and UNESCO. Unfortunately, it’s been quite a struggle to ensure each kid has an opportunity to learn. Besides the issue regarding the language of instruction still under debate, there are also constant changes to the Philippine curriculum. The K-12 curriculum, being one of those changes, has undergone several revisions due to the information overload and unrealistic list of required competencies, even becoming the MATATAG curriculum.

It’s these realities that the ARAL Law would hopefully address. As a nationwide intervention program, we would be able to connect with all sorts of educators who would provide either face-to-face or online tutoring so that our kids can get the educational opportunities they’re entitled to.

Don’t forget to follow the DepEd for more developments regarding the ARAL Law and how we can get free tutoring!

More about education in the Philippines?

How the K-12 Curriculum Worked But Made Teachers and Families Struggle
Another Homeschool Year for Kids And It’s Not Easy
Traditional School Subjects That Should Make A Comeback