DepEd protects classroom teaching time as key reform alongside new Grade 6, 9, and 10 curricula

The Department of Education (DepEd) is implementing new curricula for Grade 6, Grade 9, and Grade 10 this school year while pushing to protect instructional time as a parallel reform measure aimed at improving learner performance.

DepEd Assistant Secretary Joyce Andaya told DZRH News program “Special on Saturday” on June 6 that the curriculum rollout is part of a package of systemic reforms being pursued under the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Education Secretary Sonny Angara to raise the quality of basic education in the country.

“We protect our instructional time, ito ‘yung teaching and learning talaga na nagtuturo ang mga guro,” Andaya said, describing the measure as one of the department’s key strategies to ensure that classroom hours translate to actual learning gains.

Teachers assigned to the three grade levels have already undergone training in preparation for the new curricula, Andaya said, while devices needed for instruction are covered under the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses budget of each school.

She said the reforms are designed to work together as a system rather than as isolated interventions, with the goal of measurably improving proficiency levels in national assessments by 2027 or 2028.

“Sabay-sabay po itong mga reporma na ginagawa natin, systemic reforms such that matulungan talaga natin ang mga bata at maitaas nga ang ating antas ng edukasyon,” Andaya said.

Andaya acknowledged that some grade levels are showing early signs of improvement while others remain a concern, and said DepEd is continuously looking at additional ways to support learners beyond the classroom, including through resources provided directly to students.

The department is also running the ARAL program, a reading intervention targeting learners who have not yet reached grade-level proficiency, as part of the same push to improve learning outcomes across all grade levels.