Returning GMRC in school curriculum

EDITORIAL

It is high time President Duterte signed a law last week restoring subjects on good manners and right conduct as well as values education.

Proponents of Republic Act 11476 hope implementing rules and regulations for the new law will be released in time for the incorporation of the subjects into the curriculum for the coming school year.

The law comes at a time when the country is battling the Covid-19 pandemic.

Subjects on Good Manners and Right Conduct were scrapped in 2013 and replaced with subjects on Edukasyon sa Pagkakatao. Under the new law, GMRC will be integrated into daily activities in kindergarten, and taught as a separate subject from Grades 1 to 6. GMRC will be integrated into the Values Education subject from Grades 7 to 10. Values Education will be integrated into all subjects for Grades 11 and 12.

Observers have noted that there was a decline in the practice of GMRC among the youth ever since the subject was scrapped.

This time, Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo, who chairs the House committee on basic education and culture said the measure will help inculcate in the youth basic tenets such as “caring for oneself, giving concern for others, according proper respect to people, upholding discipline and order, and cultivating sincerity, honesty, obedience, and above all, love for country.”

The practice of GMRC could be used in addressing Covid-19 through the slogan adapted by the country: healing as one. This requires being mindful not only of one’s health but also those of others.

We stay healthy so we don’t infect others, especially the elderly and those with comorbidities for whom Covid-19 infection could prove fatal.

GMRC and values education can promote the behavior and attitudes that are critical for success in fighting Covid-19.

Public officials from the President down should lead by example and show proper manners, in both word and deed. Beyond the pandemic, practically all aspects of life can use good manners, right conduct and proper values. It’s high time that the subjects are given the emphasis they deserve. The nation needs this as it transitions to “new normal.”