Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has reiterated the need to align K to 10 MATATAG curriculum to teacher education and training.
Gatchalian called on the Teacher Education Council (TEC) to ensure that teacher education and training are aligned to the K to 10 MATATAG curriculum.
“One rationale to strengthen the Teacher Education Council is that disconnect between pre-service and in-service,” he said.
He noted that the in-service teachers were teaching a curriculum that has “never been exposed at the pre-service level, now we’re entering the same scenario, and it seems to me that the same problem is recurring.”
Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, said under the Excellence in Teacher Education Act (Republic Act No. 11713), the Secretary of Education serves as the chair of the revamped Teacher Education Council (TEC), which is mandated to improve the quality of teacher education and training in the country.
The TEC is also responsible for establishing fundamental requirements for teacher education programs.
The law also mandates the TEC to improve coordination between the DepEd, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to ensure coherence between pre-service and in-service teacher education.
“I will not discount the fact that we need to activate the Teacher Education Council considering that we have a new curriculum. And again, part of the responsibilities and powers of the Council is to align the new curriculum to the policy, standards, and guidelines being used at the pre-service level,” he said.
The senator called for the formal documentation of the pilot run of the MATATAG K to 10 curriculum, initiated on September 25 in 35 selected schools across seven regions. He emphasized that the lessons from the pilot, including feedback from teachers and learners, are vital for refining the curriculum’s full implementation.
Gatchalian emphasized the importance of ensuring the availability of high-quality learning materials, which should be sustained until the full implementation of the curriculum.