Seventeen, or majority, of the Philippines’ “30 illiterate barangays” are located in Mindanao, with nine of them ranked in the “Top 10”.
The Literacy Coordinating Council (LCC) of the Department of Education (DepEd) describes “illiteracy” as a situation where not a few inhabitants of a village have little knowledge in the basic literacy skills of reading, ’riting and ’rithmetic or numeracy (often called the Three Rs).
The LCC largely attributes this problem to the far distance of many barangays or sitios, usually located in mountains or islands, from existing public elementary schools which require local school-age children and young adults to travel several hours to reach the learning center and return home.
Consequently, these youngsters grow up to become “no-read-no-write” like their parents, the LCC noted.
A DepEd report received here recently said the agency got its statistical data from the “Literacy Mapping” of the total number of barangays in 5th and 6th class municipalities released late last year by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The data revealed that three villages in Salay town, Misamis Oriental, placed 1-2-3 in the list of 30 barangays. They are barangay Matampa which recorded the lowest basic literacy rate (BLR) of 30.4 percent followed by Alipuaton, 32.9 percent, and Bunal, 44.8 percent.
The Zamboanga del Sur barangays of Nangan-Nangan and Mate, both in Tigbao town, registered a BLR of 55.2 percent and 65.6 percent to emerge fourth and eighth, respectively.
Three Lanao del Norte (LdN) villages are also in the Top 10, namely, Pandalonan in Munai town with a BLR of 56.3 percent, fifth; Dansalan in Sapad, 65.1 percent, seventh, and Bubonga Rapadan also in Munai, 72.3 percent, 10th. Other LdN barangays in the list of 30 are Cabasagan with 73 percent and ranked 11th, and nearby Natangcopan, 75.6 percent and emerged 14th , both in Pantao Ratao town while the province’s barangays of Old Poblacion (82.6 percent) in Munai and Bangcal (85.7 percent) in Pantar placed 23rd and 28th, respectively.
The data showed that La Union’s village of Cardiz in Bagulin town got a BLR of 64.3 percent to land sixth in the Top 10. Misamis Occidental’s barangay Dioyo in Sapang Dalaga placed ninth with a BLR of 72 percent, while the town’s village of Ventura came out 22nd with a BLR of 82.4 percent, even as barangay Manalad in the adjacent municipality of Calamba got 86.3 percent to place 29th.
Two Surigao del Norte barangays — Sto. Rosario (83.3 percent) in Bacuag town and Poblacion Uno (83.0 percent) — ranked 25th and 26th, respectively.
Completing the Top 30 villages with low literacy rates are Dananao in Tinglayan town, Kalinga, which placed 12th; Estrella, San Guillermo, Isabela, 13th; Nanungaran, Rizal, Cagayan, 15th; Progreso, San Guillermo, Isabela, 16th; Marapilit, Zummaraga, Samar, 17th; Dao-angan, Boliney Abra, 18th; Paroyhog, Sta. Maria, Romblon, 19th; Bekigan, Sadangan, Mt. Province, 20th; San Miguel, Maslog, Eastern Samar, 21st; Canlasog, Larena, Siquijor, 24th; Bunacan, San Julian, Eastern Samar, 27th and Malijao, Dimiao, Bohol, 30th.
By J. Antonio Rimando (The Philippine Star) January 05, 2012