MOTHER TONGUE AS MODE OF INSTRUCTION ENDS, BILL LAPSES INTO LAW

The bill which discontinues the use of mother tongue as the language of instruction from kindergarten to grade 3 has lapsed into law, after it stayed for 30 days awaiting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's signature for it to be passed as a law according to House Basic Education Committee Chairperson Roman Romulo. 

Republic Act No. 12027 or the Act of Discontinuing the Use of the Mother Tongue as Medium of Instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3 amends Sections 4 and 5 of RA No. 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.

The discontinue use of the mother tongue as a medium of instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3 lapsed into law (Photo courtesy of Arnold Almacen/Rappler)

Mandates that teaching assessment for Kindergarten up to Grade 3 students shall be taught in regional or native language and that the curriculum must conform to the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE).

From grade 4 to 6, the Department of Education (DepEd) implemented a transition program into Filipino and English as the new medium.

Under RA 12027, “The medium of instruction shall revert to Filipino and until otherwise provided by law, English,” while the regional languages will serve as a supplementary media of instruction for the students.

Mother tongue refers to one’s regional or native language, or the communication a child learns at home. The DepEd said the mother tongue as the first language of instruction would allow students to develop a “strong foundation” in their native languages before adding additional languages.

Section 2 of RA 12027 states that the framework of MTB-MLE in monolingual classes can be applied in monolingual classes given that the mother tongue to be used as a medium of instruction follows the following requirements:

• an official orthography developed and and published by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF)
• officially documented vocabulary published by the KWF, such as in glossaries, dictionaries, encyclopedias, or thesaurus
• literature on language and culture
• availability of teachers in the school who speak and are trained to teach in the mother tongue

Meanwhile, some lawmakers opposed the bill saying that “Removing the Mother Tongue as a medium of instruction is a step backward from providing better quality education to the youth.” And “Abandoning the Mother Tongue is turning away from our country’s various languages and their contributions to the diverse cultures we have.”

The Senate approved the bill last July 23, 2024, seeking to amend sections 4 and 5 of the Republic Act 10533. RA 12027 shall take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Source: ABS-CBN News 

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