Since the mid-1990s, the Philippine education system has struggled with a serious literacy problem. According to the World Bank (2022), over 90% of Filipino children aged 10 have difficulty understanding and cannot read age-appropriate texts. The educational crisis led the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) to reform its primary education K–10 curricula in 2023 to reduce inefficiencies and improve student performance. The Matatag curriculum focuses on strengthening primary skills in literacy, numeracy, and values education and addresses the inefficiencies in the previous curriculum. This paper explains the reason for the reform and its key features and implications.
The Matatag curriculum involved major structural changes, which aimed to achieve better learning outcomes. According to DepEd, the former curriculum is overburdened, resulting in an insufficient understanding and inferior mastery of competencies (Macasero, 2023). With the Matatag curriculum, the number of learning competencies was reduced by 70% to enable students to attain greater concentration on core learning subjects such as language, reading, mathematics, Makabansa (nationalism), and Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC). The first major change was that “Mother Tongue” would no longer be a separate subject in education but would instead be integrated into language learning, as the learner’s regular language is used to help with comprehension. The curriculum also introduced “peace competencies” for Makabansa to give students a new understanding of civic engagement and conflict resolution skills (Department of Education, 2023).
Overall, the Matatag curriculum is a timely and much-needed reform intended to rebuild the quality of Philippine education. The refocused agenda would be to change the declining literacy trends and promote holistic development. While the outcome of this program lies in the hard work of implementation and evaluation, Matatag is a promising step towards a more resilient, effective, and learner-centered education system. This reformed curriculum would enhance the skills of the students when it comes to literacy.
References
Hernando-Malipot,
M. (2023, January 30). DepEd launches ‘MATATAG’ agenda to resolve challenges in
basic education. Manila Bulletin. Retrieved May 23, 2025, from https://mb.com.ph/2023/1/30/deped-launches-matatag-agenda-to-resolve-challenges-in-basic-education
Macasero, R.
(2023, August 11). New K-10 curriculum in the Philippines: What you need to
know. RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/deped-k-10-curriculum-philippines-things-to-know/
World Bank
& UIS. (2022). Learning Poverty: A World Bank-UIS indicator to highlight
the learning crisis. In the Philippines Learning Poverty Brief.
https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099000207152223103/pdf/IDU002b5536c0db4104ec3087d809906ec2eae56.pdf
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