The Department of Education (DepEd), starting this school year, will no longer promote to the next higher grade, third grade children who cannot read. Pupils will be failed and retained in the same grade level.

Education Undersecretary for Regional Operations Ramon Bacani said the new policy is stipulated in DepEd memorandum number 324-2004 and was earlier pronounced by DepEd Order number 45 entitled "Reading Literacy Program in the Elementary Schools."

Bacani said the move, also described as "No read, no promotion," is not only in support of DepEd’s "Every child a Reader Program (ECARP)" but is also designed to strengthen the teaching of reading in every public grade school especially those in rural areas.

Many veteran field school officials and teachers, together with concerned parents considered the policy requiring every pupil to have learned to read after completing third grade as a "big step in the right direction which will ultimately raise the quality of basic education."

The educators and parents claimed that the policy will answer the public criticism that public elementary schools have long been producing half-baked graduates who are weak in basic literacy skills, notably reading and numeracy, and are not prepared for high school education.

They noted the academic incompetence of many public grade school finishers primarily prompted newly-replaced DepEd chief Edilberto de Jesus to introduce the so-called "Bridge" program for high school-bound students.

The poor reading skills of many pupils has also been largely attributed by not a few educators to an old education department policy called "Continuous Progression Scheme (CPS)" which enjoined teachers to continuously promote their pupils to the next higher grade level until they reach Grade Six.

Bacani reported that to effectively implement ECARP, the Bureau of Elementary Education headed by director Teresita Inciong, has developed a "Philippine Informal Reading Inventory" (PHIL-IRI), an assessment tool in reading.