Alden Richards travels to schools across the country to examine the Philippines’ worsening learning crisis in “Rebuilding Broken Rooms: A GMA Public Affairs Education Special,” airing on August 8 at 9:30 p.m. on GMA.
The documentary looks at the challenges confronting students and educators as learning outcomes continue to decline. According to the World Bank (2022), 91 percent of 10-year-old children in the Philippines struggle to read and comprehend, with proficiency continuing to fall as students advance through school.
The project also holds personal meaning for Richards, who left school at a young age to help support his family. He said the documentary gave him an opportunity to use his platform to raise awareness about the issue.
“I want to use the voice I have to spread a message that the public needs to hear,” Richards said. “I want to be part of this advocacy and help people understand what the situation is today.”
The documentary opens at Tinungkaan Elementary School in Alabel, Sarangani, which Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom II) identified as having the country’s highest percentage of struggling readers, with all students classified as low-emerging readers. Despite crossing rivers and climbing mountains each day with teacher Gerwin to reach their makeshift classrooms, the students continue attending school.
In Tondo, Manila, Rosauro Almario Elementary School has the highest percentage of low-emerging readers in Metro Manila, with seven out of every 10 students struggling to read and comprehend.
Among them is Grade 2 student Jannah Will, who is still unable to read a complete sentence. She sometimes misses school because her family cannot afford transportation. A nearby school has remained closed since it was destroyed by fire two years ago.
The shortage of classrooms has also forced schools to adapt. Ciudad Nuevo Elementary School in Naic, Cavite has built makeshift classrooms because of limited space, while Calubcob Elementary School has converted vacant housing units in a residential project into temporary classrooms where students contend with extreme heat, noise and unsuitable learning conditions.
As he visited schools, Richards said he was struck not only by the difficulties faced by students and teachers but also by how many children had come to accept those conditions as normal.
“How did we allow them to believe this is acceptable? It isn’t,” he said. “We should never make young people think this is what a normal education looks like because children who want to learn deserve better.”
From remote mountain communities to densely populated urban neighborhoods, “Rebuilding Broken Rooms” follows the search for answers to the country’s education crisis while highlighting the determination of children pursuing an education and teachers who continue their work despite limited resources.