President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. expressed the administration’s support for the “MATATAG Curriculum” of the Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday, saying that it is a significant program suited for Filipino pupils and students.
“This is very significant because…sinusubukan nating gawin at ayusin ang curriculum para mas bagay sa pangangailangan ng mga batang Pilipino,” President Marcos told reporters at the sidelines of the Brigada Eskwela activities held at the Victorino Mapa High School.
President Marcos also emphasized that the MATATAG Curriculum also aims to strengthen the country’s “international score” especially when it comes to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.
The chief executive added that the MATATAG Curriculum will also give students an option whether to pursue vocational or technical training after finishing 10th grade of the present academic year.
“So that’s more or less the big system changes that we are doing,” President Marcos said.
The DepEd recently launched the MATATAG Curriculum, which aims to decongest the current K to 12 Curriculum and which includes a reduction in the number of competencies and is more focused on the development of foundational skills such as literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills for kindergarten to Grade 3.
Intensified formation of the students’ values and character development in adherence to the Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) and Values Education Act as well as the articulation of 21st Century Skills are also included in the new curriculum.
MATATAG stands for “Make the curriculum relevant to produce job-ready, Active and responsible citizens; TAke steps to accelerate the delivery of basic education services and provision facilities; TAke good care of learners by promoting learner well-being, inclusiveness learning, and positive learning environment; and, Give support for teachers to teach better.”
For her part, Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte said that the MATATAG Curriculum is the legacy of the Marcos administration in the country’s basic education as she emphasized that they have already resolved all the problems observed in the new “K-10 program” by the international and local education experts.
“Una na dito ‘yung napakaraming learning competencies,” Vice President Duterte said.
Vice President Duterte said that DepEd was able to decrease the country’s learning competencies from 11,000 to 3,000.
President Marcos visited the Victorino Mapa High School in Manila on Monday and joined teachers and volunteers conducting activities during DepEd’s 2023 Brigada Eskwela along with Vice President Duterte as he donated PhP1 million to the school in addition to paints and cleaning materials. PND
