Senator Legarda proposes K to 3 program to tackle crisis in early education

Senator Loren Legarda is proposing the K to 3 (Kindergarten to Grade 3) Foundational Learning and Nurturing Care Act, a landmark measure aimed at addressing the country’s crisis in early education.

In a news release, Legarda said, “Kindergarten to Grade 3 is a critical stage that determines whether a child will stay on track or fall into struggle.”

She noted that the Philippines already has an established Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) framework under Republic Act No. 12199 but says a critical “missing middle” remains unaddressed.

“Without deliberate investment in these formative years, ECCD gains will be lost, and children will be left unprepared for the demands of higher education,” she said.

She stressed the urgency of the bill, citing findings from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) showing that nearly half of Filipino learners are unable to read "at grade level" by the end of Grade 3.

Global assessments by UNICEF and the World Bank further indicate that 91 percent of Filipino children at late primary age cannot read and understand a simple story.

This places the Philippines among countries with the highest rates of learning poverty worldwide.

“What begins as a reading problem ultimately becomes a learning crisis,” Legarda said. “If we fail our children in the early years, we fail them for life. This is a crisis we cannot afford to ignore.”

Legarda explained that the measure adopts a prevention-first approach, ensuring that children develop strong foundations early and reducing the need for costly remediation later.

The bill calls for high-quality, language-rich and numeracy-rich instruction, fully integrated with socio-emotional learning (SEL) and values formation.

“Foundational learning is more than learning how to read and count,” she said. “It is about nurturing and building the skills, habits, and values that shape a child for life. It is about raising citizens who can think critically, care deeply, and act with integrity and responsibility.”

She further highlighted the broader impact of the measure, saying, “Education is the nation’s most powerful equalizer. If we fix learning in the early grades we ease congestion in later years, resulting in fewer repeaters, fewer dropouts, and better use of every peso dedicated to education."

"When we give every Filipino child the tools to read, count, and care, we give them the power to dream, to achieve, and to contribute meaningfully to our country’s future,” she added.

Legarda, who chairs the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education and serves as co-chairperson of EDCOM II, has made foundational learning a central pillar of her broader education reform agenda.

-Paraluman News