The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is set to expand its Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program to five more regions, including Odiongan, Romblon, this 2025, a senior agency official announced on Thursday.
DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao emphasized the program’s impact, citing numerous testimonials from college students and parents who have benefited from the initiative.
“There are so many testimonials we have documented—from college students and parents—saying that the tutoring program has helped them and their families. Some even said that the cash-for-work (CFW) component is just an extra benefit. That is why we are bringing it to other regions,” Dumlao said in a news release.
According to Dumlao, the program will be expanded to the Ilocos Region, Bicol Region, Zamboanga Peninsula, Mimaropa, and Caraga. The specific municipalities included are Pangasinan (Ilocos Region), Camarines Sur, Albay, and Sorsogon (Bicol Region), Zamboanga City (Zamboanga Peninsula), Odiongan and Puerto Princesa City (Mimaropa), and Butuan City and Surigao del Norte (Caraga).
This year, approximately 138,407 individuals—including struggling and non-reader elementary learners, their parents or guardians, and college students from low-income households—are expected to benefit from the program.
“In the five new regions, we are targeting 19,343 beneficiaries. Of this number, 16,820 are elementary learners and their parents or guardians, while 2,523 are college students who will be trained as tutors and youth development workers (YDWs),” Dumlao added.
Now in its second year, the Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program has provided cash-for-work to around 10,608 college students who facilitated tutoring and parenting sessions. Additionally, 61,805 parents and guardians of struggling or non-reader elementary students participated in the “Nanay-Tatay Teacher” sessions, while 62,418 elementary students benefited from the tutorial sessions.
Aside from the newly added regions, the program will continue in the National Capital Region, Central Luzon, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Soccsksargen, and Calabarzon. The tutoring and parenting sessions are scheduled to take place from May to June.
The Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program is the DSWD’s reformatted educational assistance initiative. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. declared it a flagship program of the national government through Executive Order No. 76, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on November 22, 2023.
Under this order, the DSWD, Department of Education (DepEd), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), National Youth Commission (NYC), and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) are mandated to collaborate in implementing the program.
