The decline in student discipline, empathy, and civic responsibility becomes evident in both private and public schools in the country. In response, the Department of Education reinstated Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) as one of the core subjects, recognizing the urgent need to anchor learning in values. Under Republic Act No. 11476, GMRC is now a standalone subject in the primary and intermediate grades.
Years of neglecting values education have left a visible void. Learners nowadays often enter classrooms with a limited understanding of respect, responsibility, or ethical behavior. Devoting a small amount of time to moral instruction allows social media and peer culture to fill the gap, which leads to disrespect and apathy. Teachers often struggle to correct these behaviors without institutional backing. The result is a school culture where discipline becomes reactive rather than formative, and the moral compass of many learners remains undeveloped.
Highlighting GMRC in the K-12 revised curriculum offers a structured solution. By institutionalizing character education and extending its instruction time from 30 to 45 minutes, schools can intentionally develop students’ ethical reasoning, emotional intelligence, and civic sense. Proper teacher training, localized teaching materials, and community involvement are essential to ensure that GMRC is not reduced to recitation but becomes a lived and practiced discipline. When rooted in everyday classroom life, values education can slowly rebuild the culture of respect and integrity that has long been desired in Philippine education.
Moreover, aside from the advisers, the role of GMRC coordinators is imperative for the application of the learnings acquired by the students. Through their guidance and creativity, these coordinators can lead school-wide initiatives, such as values-based contests, outreach programs, reflective journaling, and peer mentoring, that make moral development a realistic and lifelong skill.
When nurtured by committed teachers and coordinators, these moments shape not just well-behaved students but truly responsible individuals.
Moral decay thrives in silence; GMRC breaks that silence with purpose.
