By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The Department of Education (DepEd) is no longer locked into a one-size-fits-all curriculum after a new law gave it the authority to scrap, modify or retain teaching approaches based on what actually works for Filipino students.
Republic Act No. 12322, which lapsed into law on Aug. 2, removes the mandatory use of spiral progression, allowing DepEd to design curricula based on evidence, subject requirements, classroom realities and—most importantly—student mastery.
Sen. Loren Legarda, principal author of the measure, said the reform is intended to end a system where students repeatedly encounter the same competencies without necessarily mastering them.
“This law gives a clear direction for learning,” Legarda said Monday.
“We’re giving DepEd the ability to identify and use the most suitable and effective way to impart knowledge and skills to every student at every level of their studies,” she added.
NO MORE REPETITION WITHOUT MASTERY
Under the old system, concepts were introduced in early grades and repeatedly revisited in succeeding years with greater complexity.
RA 12322 does not ban spiral progression. Instead, it gives DepEd the freedom to determine whether it remains appropriate for a particular subject, grade level or learning environment.
Legarda said the goal is simple: students should understand what they are taught before moving to the next level.
“It’s not enough that a child repeatedly goes through the same course. It must be certain that he understands it and that he can use it before he steps up to the next level,” she said.
The reform follows findings of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EdCom II), which identified persistent weaknesses in the country’s curriculum, including excessive repetition, learning gaps and a failure to ensure cumulative mastery.
EdCom II also found that teachers are often required to handle subjects outside their specialization, particularly in critical areas such as science and mathematics.
Legarda said this leaves teachers struggling to cover too many competencies while students struggle to absorb them.
“When there are so many competencies that have to be taken up, and the teacher is teaching a subject that’s not his specialization, time is lost for explaining and learning each subject well,” she said.
DEPED NOW HAS TO DELIVER
The law also requires regular review of curriculum and teaching methods, allowing DepEd to adopt new evidence, practices and innovations instead of allowing outdated approaches to remain in place indefinitely.
Legarda said Philippine education cannot afford to remain tied to methods that no longer produce the desired results.
“Education cannot remain tied to methods that are no longer suited to the needs of the present,” she said.
The new law gives DepEd something it has long needed: room to change course when the evidence says the system is failing.
But with that freedom comes a bigger responsibility.
DepEd can no longer blame a rigid curriculum framework for poor results.
The approach may change—but the standard must not: Filipino students must actually learn, understand and use what they are taught.
ia/xf
