Vice President of the Philippines and Secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd) Sarah Duterte launched the MATATAG curriculum on August 10, 2023 in Pasay City, as a revised curriculum for Kindergarten to Grade 10 in the Philippines to take effect on school year 2024 to 2025, and primarily designed  to address the challenges of the current K to 12 curriculum, such as the congested content, misplaced prerequisite learning competencies, and cognitive demand imbalance.

MATATAG stood for, “Make the curriculum relevant to produce job-ready, Active and responsible citizens; TAke steps to accelerate the delivery of basic education services and provision facilities; TAke good care of learners by promoting learner well-being, inclusiveness learning, and positive learning environment; and, Give support for teachers to teach better.”

On the other hand, Republic Act No. 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act is the current educational curriculum of the country, which increased the number of years of basic education, resulting in the creation of senior high school or grades 11 to 12, which kick started in 2012 to 2013.

For learners who needed to stay flexible with this change pondered on the rightness and justice of this revision, on the ground that K12 is aligned to international standards with other countries in the world that observed 12-year basic education cycle, and the Philippines prior to its effectivity was among the remaining three nations, with Djibouti and Angola, and the last in Asia that was not observant of K12.

Moreover, the decision to revise the curriculum was a sturdy recommendation  of 1,168 collaborators and contributors, comprising of 117 DepEd specialists; DepEd teachers, school heads and supervisors; 126 consultants and higher education institutions; 205 external parties including civil society organizations and industry and government stakeholders; 180 individuals from private schools and organizations; and lastly seven international experts.

Therefore, the endorsement and approval to consider the MATATAG curriculum was tediously reviewed by experts and frontline in education and in the community, not just for any political reason and propaganda, with a goal to have a streamlined process for implementation and ensuring that learners will have flexibility and adaptability to this transformational journey.

For a smooth buy-in and acceptance of the general public, the MATATAG curriculum took note of pilot implementation to primary and secondary schools in Caraga Region particularly in identified schools in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte and in Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte, including capacity building, learning resources, senior high school (SHS) curriculum revision and stakeholders’ support. (RLE/PIA-Caraga)