DepEd: Students and teachers are “open” to the MATATAG curriculum

SF | DepEd: Students and teachers are “open” to the MATATAG curriculum | MANILA – As of today, the Department of Education said that the first day of the pilot introduction of the MATATAG K–10 Curriculum went well.

Undersecretary Michael Poa, a spokesman for the DepEd, told reporters Monday night that students and teachers were open to the new program.

“The participating regions reported that teachers were adequately prepared for the pilot implementation, due to capacity building activities and orientation sessions on the new curriculum conducted prior to the first day of implementation,” Poa told reporters in a Viber chat.

He also made it clear that some schools are still making changes to the class program designs of the MATATAG K–10 Curriculum “to account for changes in the time allotments of certain learning areas.”

“This period of adjustment is expected – as the very purpose of the pilot implementation is to monitor and determine areas that may need to be improved or enhancements that may be put in place in preparation for the nationwide phased-implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum come SY 2024-2025,” said Poa.

When it was officially released last month, the MATATAG Curriculum is meant to make the current K–12 Curriculum less crowded by cutting down on the number of competencies and putting more emphasis on building basic skills like reading, math, and social and emotional abilities in students in kindergarten through third grade.

It started in 35 schools in seven areas: Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Visayas, Soccsksargen, Cordillera Administrative Region, Caraga, and the National Capital Region. These areas have new basic education curriculums.

In an interview on Monday, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte said that the early use of the MATATAG K–10 Curriculum is also getting ready for its full rollout next year.

“Meron tayong pilot ngayong taon na ito para makita natin kung ano yung mga problema sa implementation para sa susunod na taon sa phased implementation natin ng MATATAG Curriculum, konti na lang yung mga kailangan nating ayusin na gusot (We have the pilot this year to see the problems in the implementation so that in the phased implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum next year, we will have less problems to fix),” Duterte stated.

Kindergarten, Grades 1, 4, and 7 will start using the MATATAG K–10 Curriculum in stages starting with SY 2024–2025. Next will be Grades 2, 5, and 8 in SY 2025–2026, then Grades 3, 6, and 9 in SY 2026–2027, and finally Grade 10 in SY 2027–2028. (PNA)