Senator Bam Aquino expressed support for the enactment of Republic Act No. 12322, a new measure removing the mandatory use of the spiral progression approach in the K to 12 curriculum to grant the Department of Education (DepEd) greater flexibility in adopting effective teaching strategies.
Principally sponsored and co-authored by Aquino as chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, the measure lapsed into law on August 2. It amends Section 5 of Republic Act No. 10533, or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, enabling DepEd to select the most suitable instructional methods while mandating regular curriculum evaluations.
The legislation marks Aquino’s second education bill passed into law during the 20th Congress, following Republic Act No. 12321, or the Last Mile and Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) Schools Act.
“Under this law, the spiral progression approach will be removed to give DepEd the flexibility to choose the most effective teaching methods for our students,” Aquino said.
“This is a crucial step toward resolving the education crisis and will help improve proficiency and literacy in our schools,” he stressed.
Aquino noted that the reform aims to help students master foundational concepts before advancing to higher grade levels. During the bill’s sponsorship, consultations with educators highlighted that compulsory spiral progression complicated classroom instruction and burdened learning.
These findings align with the Year One Report of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), which revealed that the mandatory framework created operational challenges for educators, especially those teaching Science and Mathematics.
Instead of focusing on specialized subjects, teachers were forced to cover multiple disciplines, leading to overcrowded lessons and diminished student mastery of basic concepts.