Gatchalian: Textbooks for new DepEd curriculum to be ready by July

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday said the printing of textbooks for students undergoing the first phase of the recalibrated “K to 10” curriculum will be finished by July.

Gatchalian, who heads the Senate basic education committee, said some seven to eight million textbooks will be printed for students for the school year (SY) 2024 to 2025 under the Department of Education’s (DepEd) “Matatag” curriculum starting August.

“Before July, meron ng bagong textbooks … based on their timeline,” Gatchalian told reporters in an online interview.

(Before July, there will be new textbooks based on their timeline.)

However, Gatchalian, who also co-chairs the Second Congressional Commission on Education, admitted that the schedule is tight right now.

“Base rin doon sa pag-aanalisa namin talagang very tight ‘yung timeline at kung isang delay lang ang mangyayari — alam mo ang DepEd, marami kasi ‘yang departments — so isang delay lang, made-delay siya,” he noted.

(Based on the assessment, the timeline is tight and if there would be a delay in one department — you know DepEd has many departments — if there’s even just one cause of delay, the entire thing will be delayed.)

Nevertheless, Gatchalian said the DepEd should work on finishing the printing of textbooks since it may lead to the usage of old modules which would “defeat the purpose” of the new curriculum.

“So kung nadelay siya, ang gagamitin ay ‘yung mga lumang self-learning modules muna, pero ‘yan ay para sakin, it defeats the purpose ng bagong curriculum,” Gatchalian said.

(So if it is delayed, the old self-learning modules will be used in the meantime. But for me, it defeats the purpose of the new curriculum.)

“Kaya nga natin nila-launch itong bagong curriculum para mag-improve yung learner outcomes, ibig sabihin [para] tumaas ‘yung learner performance natin. Pero kung walang libro, paano mag-aaral ‘yung bata?” he continued.

(That’s why we launched this new curriculum to improve learner outcomes, so our learner performance would increase. But if there are no books, how will the child learn?)

Under the Matatag curriculum, lessons from Kindergarten to Grade 10 will focus on five foundational skills, which are language, reading and literacy, mathematics, makabansa, and good manners and right conduct, which is in contrast with the seven learning areas offered in the current curriculum. These are as follows: mother tongue, Filipino, English, Mathematics, Araling Panlipunan, Mapeh, and Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao.

The phased implementation of the Matatag Curriculum is as follows: first phase (SY 2024 to 2025) for Kinder, Grade 1, Grade 4, Grade 7; second phase (SY 2025 to 2026) for Grade 2, Grade 5, and Grade 8; third phase (SY 2026 to 2027) Grade 3, Grade 6, and Grade 9; and the final phase for Grade 10 for SY 2027 to 2028.

This recalibration was done in light of the “learning crisis” that is facing the education sector, Edcom II said on its website.

Based on the World Bank’s 2022 report on the State of Global Learning Poverty, the Philippines’ learning poverty ranks among the highest in the Asian region at 90.9 percent, according to the website.

It further noted that the country fared the worst among the Southeast Asian countries, except Laos at 97.7 percent and Brunei which did not undergo the assessment. —With reports from Barbara Gutierrez, INQUIRER.net intern