THE five-day Manila International Book Fair ended at the SMX Convention Center at SM Mall of Asia yesterday to a record-breaking attendance of 75,000 people. The MIBF opened last Thursday to a huge crowd of mostly students who did not have classes. The cancellation of classes because of inclement weather swelled the ranks of people who thronged the book fair on Day One.
We just wish that Prime Trade, the organizers, would tell the book stall owners to tone down the volume of their public address systems. One publisher, ironically a Catholic press, kept on pushing the volume up such that the writers and readers in the neighboring stalls could no longer hear each other. A book fair is a place for conversation between writers and readers, and turning up the volume to a marketplace pitch prevents such an exchange of ideas, however brief it could have been.
Moreover, it is still a phenomenon in Luzon, which is the richest island group in the Philippines, with people who have the disposable income to buy books. Similar book fairs in southern Philippines yielded dismal results, even if the length of the book fairs was abbreviated to two days.
How then can we improve reading among Filipinos, beginning with our students? Improving reading proficiency in the Philippines is not just a school concern — it is a national strategy for better learning, stronger employment, and deeper civic participation. Reading is the foundation of most subjects: science requires comprehension, math word problems need interpretation, and history lessons demand the ability to understand complex texts.
Yet too many Filipino students still struggle to read fluently and to understand what they read. The challenge is urgent, but it is also solvable. With clearer literacy priorities, better classroom practice and community-wide support, the Philippines can boost reading among students and eventually strengthen reading among all people.
In many classrooms, instruction begins with books and lessons instead of the basic question: Can children read the words on the page? Research worldwide consistently shows that the early grades (especially Grades 1 to 3) are the window where reading difficulties must be caught early. If children do not develop decoding and comprehension skills early, they often “fall behind” for years.
The Philippines can improve by making early grade reading a measurable national priority. Schools should regularly assess foundational skills — such as letter-sound knowledge, ability to read simple words, and comprehension of short paragraphs — and not wait until students are older. These assessments must be used for support, not for blame. Teachers should receive results quickly so they can adjust instruction.
Our linguistic diversity is a strength if handled well. Students learn best when beginning instruction uses a language they understand. Many children can read more effectively when material is first presented in their mother tongue, then gradually bridged to Filipino and English once foundational reading skills are established.
The problem is not mother-tongue instruction itself; the problem often lies in weak implementation, limited print materials and lack of teacher training. Schools need appropriate reading materials in local languages and teachers must be confident in how to transition from one language to another without losing literacy momentum.
Students cannot improve without access to texts they can read — or at least texts that are within reach with guidance. Many schools lack sufficient learning materials, and libraries may contain mostly reference books that are too advanced for struggling readers.
The government and private partners should support school libraries and classroom sets, but distribution alone is not enough. Materials should include decodable books for beginning readers, short stories and leveled readers for practice, big books for shared reading and tactile and local-interest content (folk tales, community stories, science in simple language).
A good reading program depends on trained teachers. Many teachers are hardworking and committed, but they may not have received sufficient training in evidence-based reading instruction — especially in the “how” of teaching decoding, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. The Philippines should invest in teacher training that focuses on practical methods, such as teaching phonics and decoding systematically, modeling fluent reading through read alouds, guided oral reading and repeated practice, vocabulary instruction and comprehension strategies.
Finally, reading culture begins at home. Boosting reading among people requires changing what children experience beyond school. As the recent book fair has shown, we have the talent and culture to build a strong reading nation. What we need now is urgency, investment and a practical roadmap that brings everyone into the joy of reading.
