EDITORIAL - Back to Filipino and English

With many indicators pointing to the deteriorating quality of education in the country, among the areas of intervention picked by stakeholders was the medium of instruction particularly in the earliest learning years, from Kindergarten to Grade 3.

K-3 used to be taught in a combination of Filipino and English in public schools. This changed for the first time in the 2012-2013 school year, with the implementation of the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education nationwide.

MTB-MLE was anchored on a sound argument: that young children learn faster when taught in their first language. It also aimed to accommodate linguistic diversity in the country.

As the program was rolled out, however, problems became evident. One was the large number of dialects used in different parts of the country. As reported by educators themselves, this made it difficult to pick just one “mother tongue” for a particular area, especially in highly urbanized regions.

In Baguio City for example, the “mother tongue” picked as medium of instruction turned out to be one that was used widely in the lowlands, but not in the mountain area. Textbooks had to be replaced and learning was set back as the problem became evident.

Urban migration turns many big cities into melting pots, where a single barangay can feature households where different dialects are spoken.

Learning in such cases can suffer serious setbacks if the affected children are too shy or scared to point out that they cannot understand the medium of instruction being used by their teacher.

Another problem was the shortage of teachers with the required proficiency in the different regional languages that were approved under the MTB-MLE.

Last year, Congress passed Republic Act 12027, which ended the mother tongue program. President Marcos, who at the start of his term said he wanted renewed emphasis on English proficiency in public education, allowed RA 12027 to lapse into law on Oct. 10.

RA 12027 allows the optional use of the mother tongue in monolingual classes and community learning centers, such as in indigenous peoples’ villages where there is a common language. Regional languages will serve as auxiliary media of instruction.

Teachers’ groups have urged the President to repeal RA 12027. For this academic year, however, the Department of Education has issued Order No. 20, mandating a shift to English and Filipino for K-3 classes.

Only time will tell if this latest intervention in the medium of instruction will improve the competencies of Filipino students. It must be complemented by intensified efforts to address the many other problems that have long plagued the education sector – from shortages of teachers, classrooms, school supplies and even water, to bullying and students’ stunting from undernourishment.