The Congress Committee on Basic Education and Culture is pushing the Department of Education (DepEd) to implement more swiftly the new MATATAG Curriculum, which aims to address the education crisis in the country.

“[If we could do it with a] sense of urgency, particularly for Grades 1 to 3. If you can do it already nationwide… immediately,” Committee Chair Roman Romulo said at today’s briefing on the phased implementation of the new MATATAG Curriculum.

Romulo questioned the necessity of a pilot test, especially for teaching basic skills like reading, citing existing scientific knowledge in the field.

“[There is] already a science on how to best or [what is] the most effective in teaching reading… It’s not a matter of preparing anything because since time immemorial science na nga siya… Nagtataka kami bakit nagtagal,” he said.

DepEd Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Gina Gonong clarified that the new MATATAG Curriculum goes beyond reading and literacy, noting it adds for example coding language and removes mother tongue.

“So our teachers need to understand the new framework in the teaching of [code] language and literacy,” Gonong said.

Romulo also raised concerns over DepEd’s limited pilot testing in only 35 schools out of over 38,000 nationwide. Gonong defended the sample size, stating it provided insights into teachers’ needs in diverse settings.

“We want to be able to know how to support our teachers and our school leaders better. We want to be able to prepare better materials for our learners. We want to be able to train our teachers on the new curriculum,” Gonong added.

In September 2023, DepEd iniated the pilot implementation of the MATATAG K to 10 Curriculum, covering five schools in each of the seven regions.

The DepEd is currently conducting a series of training across the country, which kicked off January this year, in preparation for the first phase of the new curriculum’s implementation this school year.