DepEd kicks off pilot run of revised K-10 curriculum

The pilot implementation of the recalibrated Kindergarten to Grade 10 (K-10) curriculum of the basic education started on Monday in select schools nationwide.

In an ambush interview, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte explained that the pilot run is needed to see if there are any more problems in the new curriculum that need to be addressed ahead of its phased implementation beginning School Year (SY) 2024-2025.

“Meron tayong pilot ngayong taon na ito para makita natin kung ano ang mga problema sa implementation para sa susunod na taon, sa phased implementation natin ng Matatag curriculum, konti na lang ‘yung mga kailangan nating ayusin na mga gusot,” Duterte said after an event in Pasay City.

(We have a pilot run this year so we can see what the problems are in the implementation of the new curriculum so that for next year, during our phased implementation of the MATATAG curriculum, we need only to fix a few issues.)

Thirty-five schools will be participating in the pilot run—five of each in Metro Manila, particularly in Malabon City; Cordillera Administrative Region; Ilocos Region; Cagayan Valley; Central Visayas; Soccsksargen; and Caraga.

Under the revised K-10 curriculum, the number of learning competencies was reduced by 70% from around 11,700 to 3,600.

The DepEd also cut down the number of subjects, with greater emphasis given on the development of Kinder to Grade 3 learners' foundational skills—such as literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional skills.

Duterte said that the revised curriculum aims to address the problems that were seen in the review of the old K-10 curriculum of the K-12 program.

“Ngayon meron tayong pilot sa Matatag curriculum at kung makikita ninyo, lahat ng mga problema na sinabi ng mga local at international experts sa education, sinubukan nating i-address dito sa Matatag curriculum,” she added.

(We now have a pilot run of the Matatag curriculum and if you can see, we tried to address here all the problems that the local and international experts in education raised.)

In light of the pilot implementation, the DepEd's Curriculum and Teaching Strand said Sunday it had completed the training of teachers whose schools will participate. Schools and division offices that would be part of the implementation, monitoring, and assessment had also been oriented.

Fund support, meanwhile, was also downloaded to the participating regions.

The phased implementation of the new K-10 curriculum among learners in Kinder, Grade 1, Grade 4, and Grade 7 will begin next school year.

It will be followed by Grades 2, 5, and 8 in SY 2025-2026; Grades 3, 6 and 9 in SY 2026-2027; and Grade 10 in SY 2027-2028. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News