Teachers’ training for MATATAG curriculum gets P1.5-B allotment–Gatchalian

The training of teachers for the MATATAG K to 10 curriculum has received an allocation of P1.5 billion, which the Senate Committee on Finance accepted upon the recommendation of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.

Under the Senate finance panel’s committee report on the General Appropriations Bill (House Bill No. 8980), P1.5 billion was allocated to train teachers for the MATATAG K to 10 curriculum, which will be rolled out in phases starting School Year (SY) 2024-2025 for Kindergarten, Grades 1, 4, and 7.

“One of our most important recommendations is for our teachers’ training for the MATATAG curriculum. We recommended P1.7 billion to train our teachers in the rollout of the MATATAG curriculum starting School Year 2024-2025 and P1.5 billion was allotted, which will train more or less 200,000 teachers in Key Stage 1 and other grade levels,” said Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.

Gatchalian described the MATATAG K to 10 curriculum as one of the low-hanging fruits that can help improve learners’ performance.

Prior to the launch of the MATATAG K to 10 curriculum, experts have pointed out that the K to 12 basic education curriculum was too congested. This prevents learners from mastering essential competencies such as literacy and numeracy. Results of large-scale international assessments like the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed Filipino learners failing to master basic competencies.

Out of 79 countries that participated in the 2018 PISA, the Philippines ranked lowest in reading and second to the last in mathematics and science.

The result of a two-year study, the MATATAG K to 10 curriculum retains only 3,600 competencies from over 11,000 in the previous curriculum, a reduction of almost 70 percent. According to the Department of Education (DepEd), the MATATAG K to 10 curriculum focuses on foundational skills such as literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills. The curriculum also features peace competencies.

Gatchalian also urged the Teacher Education Council (TEC) to align teacher training and education to the MATATAG K to 10 Curriculum. Under the Excellence in Teacher Education Act (Republic Act No. 11713), the TEC was revamped to strengthen the coordination between the DepEd, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), and ensure the coherence between pre-service and in-service teacher education and training.

The TEC is also mandated to set basic requirements for teacher education programs.