The Department of Education assured Monday that the teaching of martial law and other lessons under President Ferdinand Marcos is being “covered” in the curriculum.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones, during the virtual “Handang Isip, Handa Bukas” virtual press conference, underscored the importance of how martial law is being taught in schools as the country commemorates its 48th anniversary this year.
“In the past four years, especially in relation to the budget, this is always being asked,” Briones said.
Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Diosdado San Antonio assured that the teaching of martial law is covered in the K-to-12 curriculum even if was reduced to the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELCs) this school year as part of the Basic Education-Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP).
“I am very sure that the very critical and foundational competencies are offered,” San Antonio said when asked about how learning of students in various areas will be affected by the drastic reduction in the K-to-12 curriculum.
For this school year, San Antonio said that DepEd has streamlined the K-to-12 curriculum into the MELCs in which the total number of competencies in all learning areas from Kindergarten to Grade 12 -- excluding the Technical- Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) specializations in Senior High School -- has been cut to 5,689 from the original 14,171 or a reduction by 60 percent.