Push Admin

Amid lack of study in 10 years, Gatchalian asks DepEd to come up with plan on mother tongue implementation

Article (news)

Arra Perez, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Students and faculty of Pinaglabanan Elementary School in San Juan City utilize in class the installed free fiber optic internet connection via devices and equipment provided by the city" s="" local="" government="" on="" December="" Mark="" ABS-CBN="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/07/03/20221213-pinaglabanan-digital-school-md-4.jpg"/><figcaption>Students and faculty of Pinaglabanan Elementary School in San Juan City utilize in class the installed free fiber optic internet connection via devices and equipment provided by the city&#x27;s local government on December 13, 2022. <em>Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA - Senator Sherwin Gatchalian called on the Department of Education (DepEd) to craft a strategic plan in the implementation of the Mother Tongue-Based-Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE), as the agency admitted it has not conducted any study in over 10 years since the policy has been implemented.</p><p>In a Senate hearing Monday, Gatchalian asked the DepEd on its vision for the implementation of mother tongue, which is being taught as a subject from Grades 1 to 3 and is also used as a medium of instruction.</p><p>Dr. Rosalina Villaneza, Chief Education Program Specialist of the DepEd-Bureau of Learning Delivery, said they want to be able to teach all languages that learners need.</p><p>&quot;To be able to achieve all those languages that are needed for K to 3. In fact po, if you look at the previous presentation, meron na po tayong 20, 70, and 40 (languages) na nasa different stages na po. Iyong 20 is for final na actually siya, then 70 for review. We&#x27;re working on that po. Our vision is really to address because no child should be left behind,&quot; she explained.</p><p>Villaneza shared they are looking at 172 languages, as there are only 19 languages that have books being used in schools nationwide. </p><p>&quot;Dati po is 172, when we were starting. Pero we&#x27;re looking at it po talaga sa 172 kung feasible ba siya. Kasi lalong-lalo na doon sa mga far-flung areas na talagang walang access ang mga bata especially po with IPED and those remote schools,&quot; she said.</p><p>The official also stressed there is a &quot;mismatch&quot; between the concept and teaching of MTB-MLE.</p><p>&quot;Mismatch iyon po... Ang konteksto noon po is misunderstanding of the concept of bilingual. Kasi ang bilingual po sa other countries is referring to the national - the minority and the majority. Pero dito po sa atin, iba pa iyong meaning ng bilingual. Kasi sa atin po, when we implemented bilingual education, we talk about Filipino - which is the national (language) - and English,&quot; Villaneza said.</p><p>&quot;Mismatch po ng mother tongue ng teachers, iyon po ang konteksto... Totoo pong wala (research/study). Kaya nga po the UNESCO is really saluting DepEd for spearheading the implementation of the mother tongue and coming up with a law such as this. I think, para sa akin lang po, hindi po tama na balewalain natin iyong theories na nagsasabi na this is how our learners learn. Dahil lang po multilingual tayo kasi iba po iyong konteksto ng pagiging multilingual mo na nakakapagsalita ka ng maraming lengguwahe, iba po iyong kesa sa cognitive na pinag-uusapan dito at sa importance ng reasoning skills and thinking skills... We proposed for a sectioning of class based on the results of the language map. Pwede naman po iyon... Meron po tayong policy noon na nagsasabi, use the language that is common to all,&quot; she added.</p><p>Meanwhile, Benjo Basas, chairperson of the Teacher&#x27;s Dignity Coalition, recommended to exhaust alll available state policies and facilities, as he appealed for a creation of &quot;some sort of technical working group&quot; composed of language and child psychology experts.</p><p>Gatchalian assured careful study and recommendation on the implementation of MTB-MLE, as any decision on the policy will have a &quot;sweeping reform&quot; and &quot;far reaching impact&quot;.</p><p><br/>RELATED VIDEO</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/li3VsX4VnJo?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian asked the DepEd on its vision for the implementation of mother tongue, which is being taught as a subject from Grades 1 to 3.

Amid lack of study in 10 years, Gatchalian asks DepEd to come up with plan on mother tongue implementation

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

News

Amid lack of study in 10 years, Gatchalian asks DepEd to come up with plan on mother tongue implementation

Arra Perez,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 03, 2023 05:53 PM PHT

Read More:

DepEd

Department of Education

Senate

Sherwin Gatchalian

Mother Tongue Bases Multilingual Education

MTB-MLE

mother tongue

education

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.