MANILA, Philippines – The use of the “mother tongue” as the medium of instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3 will be discontinued following the lapse into law of Republic Act 12027. This new law effectively repeals the “mother tongue” provision in the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 (Republic Act 10533), which mandated the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) program.
Under the 2013 law, the mother tongue was designated as the primary language of instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3, aiming to enhance student comprehension and literacy.
However, RA 12027 reverts the medium of instruction to Filipino and English, while allowing regional languages to be used as supplementary teaching materials.
This new legislation, spearheaded by Senate Committee on Basic Education chairman Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, proposes a shift to Filipino as the primary language for basic education, with English only being used as mandated by other laws.
The new law also introduces the optional implementation of MTB-MLE in monolingual classes, where all students share the same mother tongue. This allows for a more flexible approach to language instruction, catering to the specific needs of different communities.
The discontinuation of the mandatory “mother tongue” program has sparked debate, with some arguing that it hinders student learning and development, while others support the shift to Filipino and English as a means of promoting national unity and global competitiveness.
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