Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 18) — The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM) on Wednesday asked the Department of Education (DepEd) to ensure that textbooks and other learning materials will be ready for the implementation of the revised K-10 curriculum next year.
“In our consultations with teachers, sabi nila please let’s not start kung wala kaming training, wala kaming gamit at walang gamit iyong mga bata,” EDCOM Executive Director Karol Yee said said during a Senate Basic Education Committee hearing.
DepEd Bureau of Curriculum Development director Jocelyn Andaya said earlier in the hearing that they are now in the pre-procurement stage for textbooks and other learning materials for the new curriculum.
“By January, I believe there’s already procurement that will happen for our textbooks,” Andaya said.
But Yee pointed out that it takes at least a year to produce textbooks from copy editing, to printing and delivery.
He added that currently, only students in grades 5 and 6 have textbooks to fall back on in case the new ones are not delivered on time as most public schools still lack resources.
The DepEd’s MATATAG curriculum is now being piloted in 35 public schools, with a phased full implementation set to begin next school year in grade levels 1, 4, and 7.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, stressed the revised curriculum should be implemented as soon as possible.
Experts found that the K-10 curriculum was congested which resulted in poor learning outcomes.
Gatchalian cited a study by the Assessment, Curriculum and Technology Research Center that showed less than 31% of teachers are able to teach all competencies in the K-10 curriculum.
It added that 53% to 89% of Grade 5 to 9 students were found to be not ready to move on to the next level.
