DepEd Order 010 s. 2024 Explained: The MATATAG Implementation Guide Every Teacher Needs
Here’s a scene I’ve watched play out in faculty rooms more than once. A principal walks in holding a printout and says, “So which grades are we doing MATATAG this year?” Silence. Someone says Grade 1. Someone else says “all of elementary?” A third person confidently says senior high too — which is wrong, but we’ll get there. It all comes down to DepEd Order 010 s 2024 MATATAG — the single document that settles every one of those questions.
The answer to all of it lives in one document: DepEd Order No. 010, series of 2024 — the Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum. Issued July 23, 2024. If you teach in the Philippines, this order basically decides what you’re doing for the next four years. Let me break it down in plain language, because the original reads like it was written by a committee of lawyers. (It was.)
What Is DepEd Order 010 s 2024 MATATAG, Exactly?
Think of DepEd Order 010, s. 2024 as the MATATAG rulebook. Before it, MATATAG was a curriculum on paper — guides, frameworks, a long curriculum revision process, and pilot tests in 35 schools. This order is what turned it into something schools actually had to implement: timelines, grade coverage, key stages, and what happens to everything else (special programs, senior high, ALS).
It’s a long document — dozens of pages plus annexes. But you don’t need to read all of it. You need the parts that affect your classroom. That’s this article.
Which Grades Does It Cover?
Short answer: Kindergarten to Grade 10. That’s it.
The order divides basic education into three key stages:
| Key Stage | Grades | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Key Stage 1 | Kindergarten – Grade 3 | Elementary |
| Key Stage 2 | Grades 4 – 6 | Elementary |
| Key Stage 3 | Grades 7 – 10 | Junior High School |
Notice what’s missing? Senior high. We’ll come back to that — it’s the question I get most.
The Rollout Isn’t All at Once (This Is Where People Get Confused)
DepEd didn’t flip a switch. Under DepEd Order 010, s. 2024, MATATAG rolls out in phases over four school years. Here’s the actual schedule:
| School Year | Grades shifting to MATATAG |
|---|---|
| SY 2024–2025 | Kindergarten, Grades 1, 4, 7 |
| SY 2025–2026 | Grades 2, 5, 8 |
| SY 2026–2027 | Grades 3, 6, 9 |
| SY 2027–2028 | Grade 10 (full implementation complete) |
See the pattern? Each year takes the next grade in each key stage. Clever, actually — it means no key stage is ever half-old, half-new for long. But it also means that right now, in SY 2026–2027, you’ve got a mixed building: some grades on MATATAG, Grade 10 still waiting its turn until next year.
If your principal asked “which grades this year” — now you know. And next year, the answer is just Grade 10, and then it’s done. Full K–10 implementation by 2028.
What About Senior High School?
Okay, the big one. DepEd Order 010 s 2024 MATATAG does NOT cover Senior High School. Grades 11 and 12 are explicitly excluded.
DepEd said a separate order for Key Stage 4 (SHS) would come later. Until then, two old orders stay in force: DO 021, s. 2019 (the SHS curriculum policy guidelines) and DO 012, s. 2020 (the MELCs adopted during the pandemic). So if you teach SHS and someone tells you to “implement MATATAG” — politely ask them which order they’re reading. Because this one isn’t it.
What Happens to Special Programs?
Schools don’t only run the standard curriculum. What about Special Needs Education, the Madrasah program, Indigenous Peoples education, special curricular programs, ALS? The order addresses all of them, and the answer is refreshingly honest: existing guidelines stay until new ones come out.
The order lists “Programs in Support of the Implementation” — including subprograms of the National Learning Recovery Program, the Inclusive Education Program, ALS, and co-curricular programs. Their current rules remain in effect while DepEd aligns them with MATATAG. Translation: don’t panic, keep doing what you’re doing, updates are coming.
One interesting detail: the ALS curriculum got explicitly aligned with MATATAG’s key stages — Basic Literacy maps to Key Stage 1, the elementary equivalency program to Key Stage 2, the JHS equivalency to Key Stage 3, and ALS SHS to Key Stage 4. So out-of-school learners aren’t left behind in the transition.
The 21st Century Skills Part (Don’t Skip This)
Buried in the order is something most summaries miss: MATATAG formally bakes in a 21st Century Skills Framework with four domains:
- Information, Media, and Technology Skills — finding, evaluating, and using information (yes, this is why “viewing” is now an assessed skill in English)
- Learning and Innovation Skills — critical thinking, creativity, the stuff employers actually ask about
- Communication Skills — not just grammar, but real communication
- Life and Career Skills — adaptability, responsibility, the unglamorous stuff that matters
Why does this matter to you? Because when your school head asks how your lessons “integrate 21st century skills” — and they will ask — this is the framework they’re pointing at. It comes from the instructional design framework that shapes MATATAG’s skills push. Now you know its name and its four parts. You’re welcome.
Values and Peace Education Got a Promotion
The order also puts values formation and peace education front and center — not as a side subject, but as something woven through the curriculum. The goal, in the order’s words, is learners who advocate for peaceful coexistence and community building.
This is the policy backbone behind GMRC and Values Education getting serious timetable space. If you’ve wondered why values suddenly matter so much in the daily schedule — this is why. It’s not a whim. It’s in the order.
What This Means for You, Practically
Enough policy. Let’s talk about your classroom.
If you teach K–9 this year: you’re on MATATAG (or transitioning). Your curriculum guides, time allotment per subject, and sample class program follow the new framework. The phased table above tells you exactly when your grade switched.
If you teach Grade 10: you’re the last ones. SY 2027–2028 is your year. Use this time — borrow your Grade 9 colleagues’ materials, sit in on their planning, steal their best ideas. You’ll thank yourself later.
If you teach SHS: nothing changes yet. Keep following DO 021 s. 2019 and the MELCs. Watch for the promised Key Stage 4 order, but don’t hold your breath — DepEd moves slowly on these.
If you run a special program: existing guidelines stand. Document what you’re doing now, because alignment guidelines are coming and you’ll want to show continuity.
Things People Get Wrong About This Order
“MATATAG covers all grades now.” No. K–10 only, phased through 2028. SHS excluded.
“Mother tongue is gone.” The order itself (pages 41–42) kept the first language as the medium of teaching and learning in K–3. What later changed that was RA 12027, a separate law. Don’t blame the order for the law’s doing.
“We need new lesson plans for everything immediately.” Only for grades already in the phase-in under DepEd Order 010, s. 2024. If your grade transitions next year, you have time — use it to prepare instead of panicking.
“ALS learners are stuck on the old system.” Nope — ALS got mapped to the key stages deliberately. It’s designed as a parallel track, not an afterthought.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was DepEd Order 010 s 2024 MATATAG issued?
July 23, 2024. It’s titled “Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum” — the official title of DepEd Order 010, s. 2024.
Does it cover Senior High School?
No. Under DepEd Order 010, s. 2024, coverage is K to Grade 10 only. A separate order for SHS (Key Stage 4) was promised but the old SHS guidelines remain in effect.
When will MATATAG be fully implemented?
By SY 2027–2028, when Grade 10 transitions — the final phase set by DepEd Order 010, s. 2024.
What happens to special programs like SNEd and Madrasah?
Their existing guidelines stay in force until DepEd releases aligned versions, as provided in DepEd Order 010, s. 2024.
Where can I read the full order?
DepEd’s official website hosts the full PDF, and DepEd published an official FAQ document on the policy guidelines. Always go to the source for the exact text.
The Bottom Line
DepEd Order 010, s. 2024 is the document that turned MATATAG from a plan into a schedule. K–10, three key stages, four school years, SHS waiting its turn. Most of the confusion I’ve seen comes from people assuming it covers everything at once. It doesn’t. It’s phased, it’s specific, and now you know exactly where your grade stands in it. That’s DepEd Order 010 s 2024 MATATAG in one line — and if you’re new to the reform, start with our MATATAG curriculum guide for the bigger picture.
Print the rollout table. Stick it on your faculty room wall. You’ll answer the principal’s question before they finish asking it — and everything in it traces back to DepEd Order 010, s. 2024.
Sources & References
- Department of Education — DepEd Order No. 010, s. 2024 (Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum), July 23, 2024
- Department of Education — Official FAQs on the Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum
- Inquirer.net — “DepEd launches recalibrated K to 10 curriculum, to start in SY 2024-2025”
- Manila Bulletin — DepEd statements on MATATAG rollout and teacher training
- Philstar — Pilot implementation in 35 schools (September 2023)
