During the term of President Benigno Aquino III, the K to 12 curriculum was signed into law, aiming to train the succeeding generations of Filipino youth to become globally competitive. However, that was 10 years ago, and a few things have improved. Thus, a new curriculum has been unveiled: the MATATAG K to 10, which will be progressively rolled out over the next few school years. As a Grade 12 student who has studied under the previous curriculum since its inception, these changes address a crucial flaw in the previous curriculum, but it will remain to be seen whether these promising changes can finally solve the problems that have long penetrated Filipino education.
Decongestion of Curriculum
Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte commented that the existing curriculum "required instructors to teach an excessive number of learning competencies—with very limited time available for instruction," with the result that students either failed to fully grasp the competencies or missed out on some entirely. Hence, one of the key points of the MATATAG curriculum is removing "non-essential competencies." To be specific, the MATATAG curriculum cuts a whopping 70% of learning objectives to allow more time to be devoted to lessons in fields such as reading comprehension and language.
Even in Makati Hope Christian School, where class sizes are significantly smaller than the average Philippine classroom and where facilities are adequate for 21st century instruction, teachers rarely finish all the objectives in the course guide and often need to skip lessons or rush through them as fast as possible. This has a negative effect on both the education of the students and the well-being of teachers as they struggle to cope with the demands of the education system, thus the decongestion aim of MATATAG.
Early Childhood Changes
Another significant change that comes with the MATATAG curriculum is a revamp of early childhood education. While it may not be practiced in Makati Hope (due to the inclusion of Chinese-language education), other schools, especially in rural areas, include Mother Tongue (the local dialect) as a subject in Grades 1-3. For example, in Ilocos, the mother tongue is Ilocano, while in Central Visayas, it is Bisaya. This subject is being removed in favor of the Mother Tongue being used as the medium of instruction in their respective regions. This stems from the comments of some teachers that the Mother Tongue subject overlapped with that of the Filipino subject particularly in Luzon areas (where many aspects of the dialects are very similar to Filipino), thus calling into question its purpose.
In addition, the kindergarten curriculum has been drastically cut and core learning areas were reduced to focus on developing "a good foundation" for future learning, especially in literacy, numeracy and patriotism.
Other Grade Levels
Other grade levels will gain new subjects and new learning areas as well. The full implementation of the Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) competencies will be undertaken to instill selfless values into Philippine students. A greater inclusion of "makabansa" and understanding of modern social issues, such as the West Philippine Sea dispute and the war on drugs, will also be a key part of the new curriculum, particularly in Grade 10, to help learners become more proactive in Philippine society. Lastly, MATATAG places heavier emphasis on reading comprehension and literacy skills in both English and Filipino, as well as problem-solving skills and logical thinking in mathematics.
Will MATATAG Change Anything?
First of all, it is commendable that the Department of Education (DepEd) is taking steps to try to solve the fundamental issues in Philippine education. Making efforts to revise the curriculum is a great improvement from the failure-denial attitudes and all-talk-no-show mindset that plague Philippine government agencies. Let's dissect the curriculum and analyze it objectively together, focusing first on the good, then the bad.
The Good Things - Decongestion
The first key point is the decongestion of curriculum. This overhaul is an overdue and much-needed directive from the DepEd, allowing teachers to focus on what really matters. This is especially true for the lower grade levels, where foundational skills are being developed. There is no need to overburden students with information they can easily forget after the exam is over with zero consequences because after all, they'll never use it again. A cursory look at the current curriculum should say it all-why should a teacher spend weeks, or even months on the importance of "famous" Victorian poems and plays (sorry to all English teachers) instead of guiding students on how to further comprehend the meanings of the texts, which would be infinitely more useful in their day-to-day lives?
Placing emphasis on these non-essential topics only takes time away from skills that students will genuinely need to become an effective member of society. This is prevalent among every subject, and DepEd's initiatives are appropriate solutions to foster change. Instead of teachers having to go through multiple topics per week, they can take time to meticulously discuss all aspects of a single one, allowing for greater understanding and retention. This is why the decongestion of curriculum is an extremely important aspect of the DepEd's goal to create future citizens ready to take on the challenges of the world.
The Good Things - Core Skills
MATATAG's renewed focus on reading comprehension, bilingual literacy and numeracy skills are certainly needed in Philippine society. The Philippines has been severely underperforming on international assessments, which reveal that many Filipino students lack a basic understanding of reading skills, proper grammar usage and problem solving techniques. The widespread usage of informal language and the popularity of "Taglish" (mixed English and Filipino) on the Filipino corners of the Internet have led to a decline in language proficiency among the youth. The availability of calculators on every phone and device have also degraded the arithmetic abilities of many students, thus having even more damage done to their logical thinking skills.
MATATAG recognizes these problems and seeks to fix them from the ground up, ensuring that Filipino learners develop the proper skills and proficiency in language and mathematics from an early age. Combined with the decongested curriculum, this should give Philippine students the impetus they need to adequately develop their core skills in reading, writing and mathematics to become more prepared to face the challenges of today's world.
The Good Things - Values Education and GMRC
Filipino values have not been seen very positively in recent years—and with good reason. The prominent "crab mentality", persistent pessimism and other negative traits, most notably the "Bahala na" mindset, have continued to flourish in Philippine society. It is reflected in everything, from officials insisting that we apparently can't do anything about poor agricultural output to individual Filipinos seemingly having little regard for following the laws of the road.
The inclusion of GMRC and Values Education is a renewed attempt to instill patriotic, caring and inclusive values within future generations to hopefully shake off the negativity that has gripped Philippine society and produce morally upright and socially responsible citizens.
The Bad Things - Overhaul of Teaching and Learning Styles
While the MATATAG curriculum presents great opportunities for improving Philippine education, none of that would be possible without a radical overhaul of both teaching and learning styles. Teachers would need to revise their learning materials and methods to suit the new curriculum aims, allowing themselves to spend more time discussing the nuance of topics rather than mere surface level overviews. Students on the other hand, especially those who are already in higher grade levels without full mastery of the "foundational skills" that MATATAG wants to emphasize, may have difficulties coping with the renewed focus of the curriculum. They would need to "catch up" in terms of their lacking skills in order to continue to have the full educational experience. This would produce short-term losses in terms of student performance and teaching ability, but can be remedied through the changing of the educational mindsets of both students and teachers.
The Bad Things - Non-Curriculum Structural Issues
The full effectiveness of MATATAG will also be significantly hindered by the structural issues that somehow thrive within Philippine education, which are much more difficult to solve. The curriculum is not the only thing holding back Filipino learners, but also issues concerning school facilities, class sizes, accessibility and more. For students in urban private schools like Makati Hope, 40 students would be seen as a large number of students in a class. However, especially in rural areas where schools are few and far between, most classes would reach 50 or 60 students, with some even going higher than that. This diminishes the ability of teachers to assess the performance of each individual student.
Next, a lack of digital technologies such as computers and Internet access within institutions hinder students and schools from integrating technology into their learning. School facilities are often nonexistent, too little or too outdated to effectively teach every student the basics of digital literacy and proficiency, rendering the ICT-based aspects of the MATATAG curriculum ineffective in equipping far-off learners with technology skills.
Finally, the undervaluation of the teaching profession and the chronic shortage of competent educators means that the value of the MATATAG curriculum will be diminished by a lack of dedicated teachers to instill the new curriculum into the hearts and minds of students. Issues with the hiring and retention process of teachers means that new educators are hard to come by, while many are also put off by the demands of being a teacher. These structural issues all threaten to reduce the viability of the grand changes proposed by the Department of Education.
Final Words
MATATAG K to 10 is certainly a step in the right direction. It addresses the issues located within the previous curriculum in order to suit the needs of both teachers and students, but its effectiveness will be constrained by other problems facing the education system. However, as always, only the sands of time will tell the fate of the Department of Education.
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