The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday, May 8, assured that preparations are underway for the phased implementation of the revised K to 10 Curriculum starting this incoming school year.
“In preparation for the Kinder, Grades 1, 4, and 7 implementation by [SY] 2024-2025, our rollout of teachers who will handle these classes is already ongoing, and it will be completed by the end of May,” said DepEd Assistant Secretary and Deputy Spokesperson Francis Cesar Bringas in a mix of English and Filipino during a televised interview.
“We will finish all Division Training of Trainers by the end of June, and come July, we will start the intensive training for teachers who will actually implement the new curriculum,” he added.
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Launched in August 2023, the MATATAG Curriculum is the revised curriculum for Kindergarten to Grade 10.
It aims to decongest the current curriculum and focuses on the development of foundational skills such as literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills among younger learners.
DepEd said the MATATAG Curriculum will be rolled out in phases: Kindergarten, Grades 1, 4, and,7 for SY 2024-2025; Grades 2, 5, and 8 for SY 2025-2026; Grades 3, 6, and 9 for SY 2026-2027; and Grade 10 for SY 2027-2028.
Prior to the start of phased implementation this coming school year, DepEd has also started the pilot implementation of the revised K to 10 curriculum in September last year.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2023/9/25/pilot-run-of-matatag-k-to-10-curriculum-begins-in-35-schools
‘Shortened’ school year, transition
Meanwhile, Bringas addressed concerns about the possible impact of a “shortened” school year, once approved, on the transition to the revised curriculum for Kinder to Grade 10.
“One unique feature of our MATATAG curriculum, which is going to be implemented this year particularly in Kinder, Grades 1, 4, and 7, is in Grade 1, particularly, we have reduced the number of learning areas from seven to five. Therefore, the number of learning competencies has also decreased,” Bringas explained.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2023/8/12/understanding-dep-ed-s-matatag-k-to-10-curriculum
"If we look at the competencies we need to cover for the implementation of the MATATAG curriculum, we may need fewer interventions,” Bringas said. “However, with our old curriculum, we needed to employ more measures to cover all the competencies,” he added.
DepEd has recommended the return to the old school calendar by the next school year, 2025-2026. To make this possible, the agency is planning to reduce the number of school days this incoming school year, 2024-2024, to 166 days from the usual 180 days.
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Despite the possible implications of a shortened school year on the quality of education, Bringas said DepEd will employ various measures to ensure that all competencies needed by students in their respective grade levels will be completed.
“While it is important what our curriculum experts are saying about needing a minimum of 180 days, now, if we reduce the number of school days, it has to be covered,” Bringas said.
As DepEd finalizes the proposed school calendar for SY 2024-2025 and in the coming years, Bringas underscored the importance of addressing these possible learning gaps with “innovative and meaningful approaches” so that the coverage of competencies remains of high quality despite the shorter number of school days.
Bringas said that DepEd’s Bureau of Learning Delivery is also making a “concrete plan” for the implementation of a curriculum for a shortened school calendar.
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