In line with its efforts to make the K to 12 curriculum relevant in producing job-ready, active, and responsible citizens, the Department of Education (DepEd) will priories the improvement of literacy and numeracy programs as well as the integration of “peace competencies” in the revised K to 12 program.
In the Basic Education Report (BER) 2023 delivered by Vice President and Secretary of Education Sara Z. Duterte early this week, DepEd aims to revitalize its Reading, Science and Technology, and Math programs as part of the “MATATAG: Bansang Makabata, Batang Makabansa” agenda.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2023/01/30/deped-launches-matatag-agenda-to-resolve-challenges-in-basic-education/
“We will revise the K to 12 Curriculum to make them more responsive to our aspiration as a nation, to develop lifelong learners who are imbued with 21st-century skills, discipline, and patriotism,” Duterte said.
She added that DepEd will also reduce the number of learning areas in K to 3 from seven (7) to five (5) to focus on “foundational skills in literacy and numeracy in the early grades, particularly among disadvantaged students.”
Peace in the K to 12 curriculum
Moreover, Duterte also highlighted that DepEd will embed the culture of peace in the curriculum, which would be vital in ensuring learners would lead the promotion of peace and order in war-inflicted areas.
“We will integrate ‘peace competencies’ such as social awareness, responsibility, care for the environment, value for diversity, self-esteem, positive character, resilience, and human security into the various learning areas of the K to 12 Curriculum,” Duterte said.
Currently, Duterte explained that DepEd is finalizing the review of the K to 10 curriculum while the Senior High School (SHS) curriculum is currently under review.
Meanwhile, Duterte also noted that DepEd will improve English proficiency while “recognizing linguistic diversity” through the review of the Mother Tongue-based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) Policy implementation.
DepEd, she added, will underscore the reduction of the number of learning areas to “focus on foundational skills and intensifying the values formation of learners in curriculum and teaching.“
Duterte also vowed that DepEd will be “transparent with curriculum guides and test scores, and share test items with schools and teachers to strengthen the use of assessment.“
As part of its education agenda, DepEd will also engage with Commission on Higher Education CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and industry partners to “address skills mismatches” of SHS graduates.