Schools given more flexibility for ‘Matatag’ curriculum

Education Secretary Eduardo “Sonny” Angara. —INQUIRER PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) has released a new set of guidelines for a more “flexible” implementation of the “Matatag” curriculum, including adjustable timetables, in response to teachers’ complaints about the work schedules under the previous policy.

In an order dated Sept. 18, Education Secretary Sonny Angara made “additional provisions” in the way Matatag subjects will be taught in Grades 3 to 10, under the curriculum introduced in 2023 by Vice President and then Education Secretary Sara Duterte.

Matatag’s pilot implementation last year covered 35 schools across six regions, including Metro Manila.

READ: DepEd: ‘Matatag’ curriculum ‘met with positivity’ in schools

Angara’s order allows schools to adopt schedules based on their specific needs and capacities, such as the type and size of the school, and availability of teachers and classrooms. Three options are made available under the new guidelines.

Angara retained as the first option a schedule in which all learning areas—including English, Mathematics, Science, and Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) or Values Education—will be taught for 45 minutes each for five days and Homeroom Guidance Program for 45 minutes once a week.

For the second option, under the new DepEd order, all learning areas will be taught for 50, 55, or 60 minutes and will be taught five times a week, while Homeroom will be given an allotment of once a week for 45 minutes.

Teachers’ objections

Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan (Technology and Livelihood Education, or TLE); Music, Arts, Physical Education and Health (Mapeh); Araling Panlipunan; and Filipino, will all be taught four times a week.

As for the third option, schools may propose other combinations of uniform time allotments.

But Angara set basic ground rules: Learning contact time should not be less than five hours and 30 minutes a day; time for English, Mathematics, Science, and GMRC should not be less than 225 minutes per week; TLE, Mapeh, Araling Panlipunan and Filipino should not be less than 200 minutes per week; and Homeroom not less than 45 minutes per week.

Under the old policy, the time allotment for the learning areas was 45 minutes and five times a week.

This means teachers would have to render six hours of actual classroom teaching in their eight-hour workday, one of the reasons cited by teachers’ groups in their objection.

“The proposed combination shall be subject to the approval of the schools’ division superintendent or authorized representative,” read the order posted on the DepEd’s website.

READ: DepEd starts training teachers on ‘Matatag’ curriculum

The implementation of the new DepEd order will take effect in the second quarter of the current school year.

Provisions under the old policy that are not affected by the new guidelines shall remain in effect, according to Angara.

School division offices should also ensure technical assistance in the preparation of the class programs, he added.