North Luzon schools, teachers prepare for revised K-10
BAGUIO CITY — Doña Aurora National High School and Rizal Elementary School (RES), including its extension campus in the subvillage of Liteng in Barangay Pacdal in this city, were randomly selected to pilot the “Matatag” revised K-10 curriculum in northern Luzon, along with several schools in the Cagayan Valley and Ilocos regions.
Soraya Faculo, Baguio schools superintendent, told the Inquirer on Monday that Doña Aurora and Rizal were tapped along with Bineng National High School and Lam-ayan Integrated School of the neighboring Benguet town of La Trinidad, and Kalafug Elementary School in Apayao province to represent the Cordillera leg of a seven-region piloting program.
The revised K-10 (Kindergarten to Grade 10) curriculum reduces the number of learning areas, allowing students to shift their focus to foundational skills.
To prepare for the Sept. 18 start of the new curriculum, RES teachers had an orientation seminar on Sept. 1 that tackled separate routines for the pilot schools, such as reduced classroom hours and a different day for their weekly flag ceremonies, to separate them from the majority of Cordillera schools that will continue with the existing K-12 curriculum.
The curriculum of the remaining two years of senior high school, which is meant to allow students to land jobs after graduation, is currently being reviewed by the Department of Education (DepEd).
Low enrollment
As of Aug. 29, at least 362,648 children enrolled in public elementary and high schools in the Cordillera for the school year 2023-2024, which was lower than the 445,069 pupils who attended classes in the school year 2022-2023, the DepEd said.
Baguio schools had the largest enrollment, with 43,685 grade school students, 28,308 in junior high school, 18,511 in senior high school, and 335 persons enrolled in the DepEd’s alternative learning system.
Benguet trailed behind with a total of 73,021 enrollees, followed by Abra, which has 51,860 public school students.
In Cagayan Valley, the pilot test for the “decongested” curriculum would be held at Cauayan North Central School, Dingading Integrated School, Villa Teresita Primary School, Lanna National High School, and Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo National High School, all in Isabela province.
Amir Aquino, public information officer of the DepEd in Cagayan Valley, said the pilot test would help them determine the areas of learning that need to be “enhanced and developed.”
He said students may have been getting “imbalanced learning” with the current K-12 curriculum, noting that the revised one would help educators recover lost opportunities for learning.
—REPORTS FROM VINCENT CABREZA AND VILLAMOR VISAYA JR. INQ
READ: DepEd reports early steps to revise ‘congested’ K-12
