Discontinuing mother tongue use is ‘major setback’ for primary education–ACT
Calling it as a major setback for improving the educational system, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) has called on President Marcos to seek the repeal of the law that discontinued the use of mother tongue as a medium of instruction from kindergarten to Grade 3 levels.
This runs counter to developing the Filipino learners’ foundational literacy skills, according to Vladimer Quetua, chairperson of ACT.
Teaching through the mother tongue is “foundational” especially in the development of literacy skills since learners can easily learn to read and write in their native language that they use and understand on a regular basis, he said.
This will also enhance the awareness and appreciation of learners of their cultural identity as it “preserves and nurtures our own culture.”
Quetua was responding to Republic Act No. 12027, which lapsed into law over the weekend, abolished the use of mother tongue as a medium of instruction for kindergarten to Grade 3 pupils.
The new law mandates that the “medium of instruction shall revert to Filipino and until otherwise provided by law, English,” while the regional languages will serve as a supplementary medium of instruction for the students.
Read: Use of mother tongue as mode of instruction ends as bill lapses into law
The Department of Education (DepEd) has not made a statement yet, but it has previously asserted that mother tongue as a mode of instruction for students would develop “strong foundation” in their native languages before learning additional languages, Quetua said.
He also recalled that the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom 2) had pointed out the “key challenge” in implementing the mother tongue as a medium of instruction was the bureaucratic structure within DepEd.
“This legislation is in no way an acceptable response to the barriers in implementation such as inadequate funding and support (for) teachers and students,” Quetua said.
