Removing mother tongue in schools a ‘step backward’ from quality education – teacher solon

Metro Manila, Philippines — Removing the use of mother tongue language in schools is a move away from good education, Alliance of Concerned Teachers Rep. France Castro said on Sunday, Oct. 13.

Castro’s remark came after Republic Act 12027, which removes the mandatory use of mother tongue as a medium of instruction from kindergarten to Grade 3, lapsed into law.

“Removing the Mother Tongue as a medium of instruction is a step backward from providing better quality education to the youth," Castro said in a statement.

"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," she added.

[Translation: Abandoning mother tongue is turning away from the country’s languages and its contribution to the various cultures we have.]

The lawmaker noted that the Department of Education (DepEd) seemed to have no priority on methodologies “crucial for critical thinking and genuine nationalism.”

She said removing the mother tongue and Philippine history “creates robots that are prevented from using critical thinking.”

Castro, the House deputy minority leader, pushed the DepEd to provide sufficient funds to the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education to enhance its implementation.

NewsWatch Plus reached out to DepEd for its comment on the new law but has yet to respond as of posting time.