SENATOR Bam Aquino welcomed the enactment of a new law amending the Enhanced Basic Education Act, saying it is a significant step toward addressing the country’s education crisis by giving the Department of Education (DepEd) greater flexibility in choosing the most effective teaching approach for the K to 12 curriculum.

Republic Act No. 12322, which Aquino principally sponsored and co-authored as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, lapsed into law on August 2.

The law amends Section 5 of Republic Act No. 10533, or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, by removing the mandatory requirement to use the spiral progression approach. It allows DepEd to adopt teaching methods it deems most effective, subject to periodic review and assessment.

The measure marks Aquino’s second education-related law enacted during the 20th Congress, following Republic Act No. 12321, or the Last Mile and Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) Schools Act.

Aquino said the new law allows DepEd to determine the best approach in teaching students instead of being bound to a single method, such as the spiral progression approach.

He described the reform as a crucial step toward improving student proficiency and literacy by ensuring that learners achieve sufficient mastery of lessons before advancing to more complex topics.

During his sponsorship of the bill, Aquino said consultations with teachers showed that the mandatory implementation of the spiral progression approach had made classroom instruction more difficult and affected the learning process.

He also cited findings from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), which noted that the required use of spiral progression posed challenges for teachers in delivering the curriculum effectively and affected students’ ability to develop knowledge and skills across grade levels.

According to the EDCOM 2 Year One Report, the framework required teachers, particularly those handling Science and Mathematics, to teach multiple disciplines rather than focus on their areas of specialization. The commission said this contributed to congested lessons and weaker mastery of foundational concepts among learners.

Aquino expressed hope that the new law would allow DepEd to implement more effective instructional strategies that respond better to the needs of teachers and students while improving the overall quality of basic education in the country.