Solon slams new law ending mother tongue instruction for pupils

ACT Teacher Partylist Rep. France Castro INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines — House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro on Saturday slammed Republic Act No. 12027 or the measure that discontinues the use of mother tongue as a medium of instruction for kindergarten up to grade 3 pupils.

According to Castro, removing students’ mother tongue as their medium of instruction is a “step backward” in providing them a quality education.

“As the Department of Education continues to review the Matatag curriculum, it seems to give little to no importance to subjects and methodologies crucial for critical thinking and genuine nationalism,” said Castro in a statement.

The RA No. 12027, which lapsed into law on Thursday, amends Sections 4 and 5 of RA No. 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, which 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.

READ: Use of mother tongue as mode of instruction ends as bill lapses into law

Castro also noted that discontinuing the use of mother tongue as medium of language abandons its contributions to the history and culture of the Philippines.

“Ang pag-abandona sa mother tongue ay pagtalikod sa iba’t ibang wika ng bansa at ang ambag nito sa iba’t ibang kultura na mayroon ang ating bansa,” the former representative added.

(Abandoning the mother tongue is turning away from the different languages in the country and their contributions to different cultures our country has.)

Castro also said that the challenges faced by the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) are due to the lack of support from the government, adding that the “Department of Education [DepEd] must improve the implementation of MTBMLE by providing adequate funds, not abandon it.”

READ: Mother tongue-based learning still facing countrywide obstacles – Gatchalian

Under the RA No. 12027, the medium of instruction will revert to English and Filipino while the native language can be implemented as an option in monolingual classes.

The law also mandates the DepEd to review the optional implementation of MTB-MLE three years after the effectivity of the law.