MANILA — The Department of Education (DepEd) said Monday it would remove the mother tongue language as a subject in a bid to decongest the K-12 curriculum.

Education Undersecretary Epimaco Densing said during a Senate hearing that the 50-minute mother tongue language subject would be replaced by reading and math programs.

But mother tongue languages will continue to be used as a medium of instruction in classrooms, he said.

Densing said the matter was still being finalized but discussed on a "consensual basis."

"Ipagpapatuloy pa rin natin ang paggamit ng mother tongue bilang bahagi ng medium of instruction sa ating mga kabataan sa K to 3 (Kindergarten to Grade 3)," he said.

(We will continue using the mother tongue as a medium of instruction for students in Kindergarten to Grade 3.)

"Pero mayroon kaming isang napagkasunduan na tingin namin makaka-decongest... We all agreed in the curriculum and instruction [division] to do away with the 50 minutes of mother tongue as a subject," he added.

(But we also agreed on something that can help decongest the curriculum... We all agreed in the curriculum and instruction division to do away with the 50 minutes of mother tongue as a subject.)

Under the K-12 program, the mother tongue subject focuses on the development of students' speaking, reading and writing skills with their first or local language.

There are 19 local languages being used in schools across the country, based on data from Education Assistant Secretary GH Ambat.

The DepEd is currently undertaking a review of the basic education curriculum following the poor performance of Filipino students in international learning assessments.

• DepEd to revise K to 12 curriculum: Duterte

The agency is also trying to address learning losses prompted by school closures triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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