SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Tuesday urged the Department of Education to focus on learning recovery and preparations for the rollout of the K to 10 MATATAG curriculum in 2024.

The senator emphasized the importance of preparing for the rollout of the revised K to 10 curriculum, which will be implemented in Academic Year 2024-2025 for Grades 1, 4, and 7.

This school year, a pilot implementation of the revised curriculum will run in selected schools.

Gatchalian said the pilot run should be formally studied to further refine the curriculum and its implementation. The senator also stressed the importance of aligning teacher education and training to the MATATAG curriculum.

“Nakasalalay sa ating mga guro ang tagumpay at epektibong pagpapatupad ng MATATAG curriculum. Dapat nating tiyakin ang kanilang kahandaan sa pamamagitan ng mga dekalidad na pagsasanay,” he said.

The chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education also stressed the need to address learning poverty and to strengthen fundamental skills such as literacy and numeracy.

While the DepEd has rolled out programs like the National Learning Camp, Gatchalian said that interventions should capture struggling learners who need the most help.

The Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning or ARAL Program Act, which Gatchalian filed, seeks to establish a national learning recovery program to accelerate learning recovery and mitigate the effects of the Covid19 pandemic, including learning loss.

The program’s target includes learners who are below the minimum proficiency levels required in Language, Mathematics and Science.