The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Wednesday said it will expand its Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program (TBTP) this year through more collaborations with local government units (LGUs) and state universities and colleges (SUCs).
In a statement, the DSWD said it is also targeting 130,000 beneficiaries – tutors, youth development workers (YDWs), learners, and parents – in its campaign to help students in elementary school who are non-readers or are struggling to read.
“New partnerships with LGUs and state universities have already been planned in the first quarter, and we are prioritizing expansion in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs),” said DSWD spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao.
This was after the DSWD, through its TBTP National Program Management Office (NPMO), signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Calaca City LGU and Calaca City Global College on Monday, February 9.
The agreement will allow more than 300 beneficiaries to join the pilot implementation of Tara, Basa! in Calaca City, Batangas.
The DSWD will sign a similar MOA with the Romblon provincial government and LGUs, Romblon State University, Department of Education (DepEd), and community partners on Thursday, February 12 with DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian present.
Dumlao said 1,150 individuals composed of 500 learners, 500 parents, 100 tutors, and 50 YDWs are expected to benefit from the learning sessions that will begin in the second quarter of 2026.
“Development is a core part of our work. Many students stop pursuing college due to financial constraints, and the TBTP helps address this by providing them additional income while enabling them to contribute to nation-building,” she said.
DSWD Undersecretary Edu Punay of the Innovations and Program Development Group (IPDG), who is also the TBTP national program director, said he is coordinating with local officials to expand the program in other parts of the Philippines.
The Tara, Basa! Program engages college students from low-income families as tutors and YDWs to help elementary students improve their literacy skills and to support parents to become learning partners at home.
The beneficiaries of the DSWD’s educational assistance initiative take part in cash-for-work (CFW), cash-for-training, parenting, and learning sessions.
From 2023 to 2025, a total of 34,981 college students enrolled in SUCs and local universities and colleges (LUCs) were among the beneficiaries of the program as tutors or YDWs.
Since its inception in August 2023, approximately 344,998 college students, learners, and parents have benefited from program. In 2025 alone, 128,568 tutors, YDWs, learners, and parents benefited from the program. — JMA, GMA Integrated News
