President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. reiterated on Thursday his order to the Department of Education (DepEd) to continue thriving for quality education amid the administration’s push for “transformational journey” in the education sector.
“At this juncture in our transformational journey, my instruction is simply this: Padayon! Padayon! Padayon!” President Marcos said in his speech during the Basic Education Report (BER) 2024 of the DepEd at a hotel in Manila. Padayon is a Waray-Waray term, which means to continue.
Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte spearheaded the BER 2024 presentation. Also present were Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, Chair of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Sen. Pia Cayetano, Education Undersecretary Gina Gonong and other government officials and members of the diplomatic corps.
The BER 2024 of the DepEd aims to present the accomplishments of the DepEd under the MATATAG Agenda, and to present its plans and initiatives to deliver quality, equitable and inclusive basic education for all Filipino learners as envisioned under the “Bagong Pilipinas” campaign.
President Marcos said he is happy to report that the administration is pushing for the decongestion of the current curriculum, “with a focus on the development of foundational skills” as he emphasized that the government has started pilot testing a new Kto10 curriculum in 35 schools.
Under the Marcos administration, the DepEd has rolled out the National Learning Camp with 939,314 learners from Grades 7 and 8, which is part of the learning recovery program, and introduced and implemented “Catch-up Fridays” to improve the reading and writing skills of basic education learners.
The DepEd has also constructed 3,637 new classrooms, turned over 24 “Last Mile Schools” and repaired 4,542 classrooms, and pursued information and communications technology-assisted learning with internet connectivity and satellite delivered to more than 2,000 public schools.
In terms uplifting the well-being of the students, the Marcos administration has reactivated 1,017 teen centers for health resources and referral, and established functional Child Protection Committees to help learners recognize violence, exploitation and sexual abuse.
The DepEd has alco created 9,659 new teaching positions and 5,000 non-teaching positions for fiscal year 2023; provided training and scholarship programs to 2,378 school leaders; and provided all DepEd teachers with GSIS-issued Personal Accident Insurance as part of the government’s efforts to support teachers. PND
