Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has renewed his call to the Teacher Education Council (TEC) to align the K to 10 MATATAG curriculum to teacher education and training.

“One rationale to strengthen the Teacher Education Council is that disconnect between pre-service and in-service. The in-service teachers are teaching a curriculum that has never been exposed at the pre-service level, now we’re entering the same scenario, and it seems to me that the same problem is recurring,” said Gatchalian during a basic education panel hearing on the MATATAG curriculum.

Under the Excellence in Teacher Education Act (Republic Act No. 11713), the secretary of education serves as the chair of the revamped TEC, which is mandated to improve the quality of teacher education and training in the country. The TEC is also responsible for establishing fundamental requirements for teacher education programs.

The law also mandates the TEC to improve coordination between the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to ensure coherence between pre-service and in-service teacher education.

“I will not discount the fact that we need to activate the Teacher Education Council considering that we have a new curriculum. And again, part of the responsibilities and powers of the Council is to align the new curriculum to the policy, standards, and guidelines being used at the pre-service level,” he said.

The chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education also urged the formal documentation of the pilot run of the MATATAG K to 10 curriculum, initiated on Sept. 25 in 35 selected schools across seven regions. He emphasized that the lessons from the pilot, including feedback from teachers and learners, are vital for refining the curriculum’s full implementation.

Gatchalian emphasized the importance of ensuring the availability of high-quality learning materials, which should be sustained until the full implementation of the curriculum.