MANILA -- The Department of Education (DepEd) should implement in full the revised curriculum for Kindergarten to Grade 10, Cong. Roman Romulo said Wednesday.  

This is to spare students from learning under the current system which was labelled by international assessments as "ineffective." 

The congressman from the lone district of Pasig City, who is also the chair of the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture, said that DepEd should stop doing pilot implementation and installment of the "MATATAG Curriculum." 

• DepEd to pilot test ‘Matatag Curriculum’ starting Sept. 25 

This adjusted K to 10 curriculum seeks to address issues in the current education system including the congestion of content. It was piloted on academic year 2023-2024 in hand picked schools and selected grade levels only. 

The formal implementation will be done in phases beginning school year 2024 to 2025 with grade levels participating in batches until school year 2027-2028. 

Kindergarten, Grades 1, 4 and 7 will be the first to implement the curriculum next school year to be followed by Grades 2, 5 and 8 on academic year 2025-2026. 

Grades 3, 6 and 9 will begin its shift only on school year 2026-2027 while Grade 10 will be the last to roll out the curriculum on school year 2027-2028 

"Ang sinasabi ko sa DepEd, tama ang MATATAG curriculum pero sa totoo, tama na ang pilot ng pilot lang. You have to implement it," stressed Romulo.

"Ang tanong ko, kung gradual po iyan, papaano ang mga estudyante natin na hindi kasama [sa bawat taon]? So ibig sabihin they will go through the same system kung saan ipinapakita na satin ng international assessments na hindi nga ito effective," he also said.

• Adjusted K to 10 curriculum launched: What's in, what's out 

Romulo called on DepEd to revise its manner of implementation of the curriculum. 

"Sana i-implement natin ito ng mas mabilis at i-implement natin na mas maayos," he said. 

DepEd, for its part, explained the need to implement the curriculum in phases. 

"The design of the new curriculum is progressive at every entry level per key stage (Grades 1, 4, 7) meaning may [there are] prerequisite skills/competencies at each entry level that need to be mastered before they progress to the next grade level," Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas told ABS-CBN News. 

The MATATAG curriculum was finalized after two years of review on learning competencies and subjects of students. 

While it was launched during the term of Vice President Sara Duterte, the review started during the time of her predecessor, former Secretary Leonor Briones, after learning the “alarming poor performance learners in national and international assessments."

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