Baguio, Benguet among top areas in functional literacy – PSA survey

Baguio City, Philippines - Beyond the variety of renowned wonders that Baguio City and Benguet province have to offer, said places continue to demonstrate their academic prowess and educational excellence, highlighting their diverse potential and strengths.

This can be seen through the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), the seventh survey administered by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), aimed to determine literacy status in the country and serve as an advocacy tool for national education policies and development programs.

In the latest survey, conducted from September to October 2024, the PSA revised the definition of functional literacy to include comprehension skills, more than basic writing, reading, and arithmetic. Also, the agency utilized the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) system for the first time.

Under the new standards, around 18 million high school graduates as of 2024 could be functionally illiterate, meaning one in five graduates at the secondary level cannot understand a simple story they read.

While the findings are alarming, such may not be the case for Benguet which achieved the highest functional literacy rates among the 82 provinces in the country. Benguet scored 87.9 percent, a point higher than Apayao (86.8 percent). Rizal followed with 82.1 percent, Romblon with 81.9 percent, and then Siquijor with 80 percent. The rest scored 79.2 and below.

Meanwhile, Baguio City placed second in the highest functional literacy rates for highly urbanized cities, recording 89.8 percent rating, roughly five points behind San Juan, which recorded 94.5 percent. Pasig came third with 89.1 percent.

The positive outcome for said ranking of Baguio City and Benguet can be attributed to the collective efforts of stakeholders in ensuring the quality of education offered to learners, as evidenced by various global awards that the schools in said areas have received.