Following the lapse into law of a bill that ceases the use of mother tongue as the medium of instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3 on October 10, due to President Marcos Jr.’s inaction, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines asserted that this move further detracts from resolving the education crisis and correcting curriculum flaws.
“The development of foundational literacy skills should be ensured in the primary grades. However, the new law discontinuing the use of the mother tongue as medium of instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3 runs counter to this objective. The teaching of Mother Tongue as a subject is foundational in developing literacy skills as learners can learn to read and write the easiest with the language that they use and most understand. Mother Tongue also enhances the awareness and appreciation of learners of their cultural identity, and preserves and nurtures our own culture,” stated Vladimer Quetua, ACT Chairperson.
With the enactment of RA 12027, “the medium of instruction shall revert to Filipino and until otherwise provided by law, English.”
“The English language, on the other hand, was introduced at an earlier time, probably to obey Pres. Marcos’ order early in his term that he wants English to be taught in the earliest grades for Filipinos to ‘maintain their advantage as English-speaking people.’ This step messes up with the logical transitory framework of Mother Tongue as the first language, Filipino as the second language, and English as the third language in learning. The real agenda behind this is not really for our learners to have a mastery of the vital lessons that hey have to learn, but to make them marketable to foreign employers,” criticized Quetua.
“The DepEd asserted before that mother tongue as the first language of instruction would allow students to develop a “strong foundation” in their native languages before adding additional languages. EDCOM 2 even pointed out that the key challenge in the implementation of the MTB-MLE is the bureaucratic structure within DepEd that struggles to accommodate the linguistic diversity of the country. This legislation is in no way an acceptable response to the barriers in implementation such as inadequate funding and support to teachers and students,” Quetua explained.
“Kulang na kulang ang suporta at pagsisikap para magkaroon ng mga materyales sa lokal na wika at pambansang wika. Kung gusto nating ma-facilitate at mapabilis ang pagkatuto at pag-intindi ng mga mag-aaral, dapat palakasin ang paggamit ng mga lokal na lenggwahe at ang ating pambansang wika na Filipino sa edukasyon. Dapat din itong iinstitusyonalisa at laanan ng karampatang pondo,” Quetua added.
ACT called on Pres. Marcos Jr. to repeal RA 12027, and demanded that the Mother Tongue should continue to be taught as a subject and the DepEd should rectify its errors in the problematic implementation of the Mother Tongue program. ACT also recommended that all subject areas should be designed to incorporate the development of literacy skills, engrain nationalism and promote national identity and culture, emphasizing that these should not be sacrificed to favor the English language.#
