The Department of Education has started the review of the curriculum for the senior high school grades, DepEd spokesman Michael Poa said.
Poa said the department has just concluded the review for the curriculum for kinder to Grade 10.
“The President gave us a timeline of around a year to finish the review. We are trying to decongest our curriculum to focus on the essential subjects and the basics, like math, reading, science,” he said.
“We want to really look at literacy in a way that we’ll be able to inculcate not just foundational literacy but also functional literacy,” Poa added.
Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio earlier said the government wants a more responsive curriculum.
She said in its present form, the K to 12 curriculum is “congested” and that “some prerequisites of identified essential learning competencies are missing or misplaced.”
President Marcos earlier acknowledged that the education system has “failed” Filipino children as he vowed to do better to improve the education sector.
“We have failed them. We have to admit that we have failed our children. And let us not keep failing them anymore. Otherwise, we will not allow them to become the great Filipinos that we know they can be,” the President said after receiving the 2023 Basic Education Report from Duterte-Carpio.
“The Filipino is better than this. The children are better than this. And we cannot fail them. And that is the main motivation that we should keep in our hearts,” Mr. Marcos added.
In her report, Duterte-Carpio revealed the multiple challenges hounding the education system as she launched the so-called “MATATAG” roadmap to address the identified problems.
These problems included the lack of school infrastructure, the “cracks” in DepEd’s procurement practices, the decrease of enrollment in private schools, congestion in the K-12 curriculum, employability of senior high school graduates, and lack of support for teachers, among others.
“We will rally for an improved learning system in the country. Together, we will rally for every Filipino child,” the Vice President said.
She said MATATAG will have four critical components: MAke the curriculum relevant to produce competent and job-ready, active, and responsible citizens; TAke steps to accelerate delivery of basic
education facilities and services; TAke good care of learners by promoting learner well-being, inclusive education, and a positive learning environment; and Give support to teachers to teach better.
“We know that the road will be bumpy, but our direction is clear. We know that the challenges are vast, but we Filipinos are resilient. We will overcome,” Duterte-Carpio said.