Senator Sherwin Gatchalian INSISTED that the quality of education will be strengthened if the curriculum of Grades 1 to 3 is focused on Reading and Mathematics.
Gatchalian made the statement in defiance of the earlier recommendation of Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo that the basic needs in education should be focused.
According to Gatchalian, “I agree with him that let’s go back to basics. Emphasize on reading, emphasize also on Math because these are two foundational skills that students will use for the rest of their lives.”
“Reading is a basic skill that they need to learn and strengthen. You cannot go to history, you cannot go to complicated subjects without knowing how to read and Mathematics is the foundation for science and innovation,” he said further.
Gatchalian insisted that the curriculum must be studied as a whole.
Moreover, the senator said, “We cannot just say oh, let’s subtract grade one, grade two subjects, because that will impact the grade four, grade five, grade six and so on subjects. So we have to look at it as a whole. But the concept there is to give more time for math and reading for kindergarten to grade three, so that they will develop the skills that they need in order to succeed in the next grade level.”
