Vice President Sara Duterte is stepping down as Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary on Thursday, July 19, with a ceremonial turnover of leadership to her successor Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara in Pasig City.
As the running mate of President Marcos, who plays a prominent role in his administration, Duterte initially sought the National Defense portfolio, but was tasked to lead the DepEd instead.
In accepting the DepEd responsibility, Duterte tapped into her maternal instincts in crafting her ‘MaTaTaG’ basic education agenda to implement much needed reforms in the sector. She focused on modifying the K-12 curriculum to enhance learning and teaching capabilities.
‘Batang MaTaTaG’
In January 2023, Duterte released her Basic Education Report, which identified key problems in the education sector that she wanted to solve. These include a ‘congested’ curriculum, ‘weak’ teaching methods, and concerning literacy rates that contribute to the poor state of education today.
To address these challenges, the Vice President introduced her ‘MaTaTaG’ program to enhance the education system, focusing on the learning needs and well-being of Filipino students and public school teachers.
‘MaTaTaG’ represents the four critical components of her basic education agenda: 1) MAke the curriculum relevant to today’s learners; 2) TAke steps to deliver needs with regards to Basic Education; 3) TAking good care of learners; 4) and Give teachers the support they need.
The DepEd under her leadership implemented this by September of that year upon securing the approval of President Marcos. She also implemented programs such as National Learning Camp during the End-of-School-Year break in line with her objectives for the education sector.
Supporting teachers
Acknowledging that teachers are the ‘lifeblood’ of the education sector, Duterte made efforts to improve the quality of teaching in public schools by looking after the welfare of the educators themselves.
In her Second Basic Education Report last January 25, she promised to increase the basic pay of public school teachers and provide better benefit packages.
Duterte tried to deliver on these promises with the DepEd releasing an order recently that removed administrative tasks among teachers, such as handling financial records and non-teaching programs.
Another order released under her term sought to rationalize their workload further, as well as compensate them for their overtime. This is to help teachers focus on teaching, providing students quality and effective learning experiences in the process.
Mixed reactions
How did the Vice President fare in her two years at DepEd? Stakeholders are divided in gauging her performance. Evidently, some took it positively and praised her leadership, while others made a lot of room for criticisms.
It appears that the issue about her request to be granted confidential and intelligence funds have deeply affected public perception toward her intentions in the department.
JJ Hizon, a high school teacher from Parañaque, has credited Duterte for implementing the National Learning Camp because of its “free summer class” for students.
He lamented, however, the current curriculum as similar to the old Basic Education program, adding that it was only a mere shift in “branding.”
“She had a good contribution to the department, but her issues on the confidential fund remain visible,” Hizon said.
In a phone interview with the Manila Standard, Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) noted that nothing has changed virtually in her stint in DepEd.
“DepEd is one of the agencies with the most number of problems, and she will be leaving it with a lot of problems still,” TDC chairperson Benjo Basas observed.
Basas, however, lauded her accomplishments, such as providing teachers overtime pay and an uninterrupted 30-day vacation, which aligns to their demands.
Duterte will officially leave the DepEd on Friday, with Angara taking over her post. The outgoing senator promised to build on the accomplishments of the Vice President.
