CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Education in Central Visayas (DepEd-7) welcomes the passage of a new law that discontinues the mandatory use of the mother tongue in multi-lingual classes from Kindergarten to Grade 3.
DepEd-7 regional director Salustiano Jimenez said that the Republic Act 12027, which amends the R.A. 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, would ease the teachers’ burden in linguistically diverse regions like Central Visayas.
“It is a welcome development for it will ease the burden of the teachers kung unsaon nila pagpasabot sa mga bata,” said Jimenez.
He explained that they were facing challenges in implementing the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) program because of the interplay of different dialects in the region.
Jimenez said that there are 11 different types of spoken dialects in Central Visayas making it difficult for teachers to facilitate learning effectively. The lack of standardized textbooks worsened the situation for the teachers.
Jimenez admitted that it was difficult for them to come up with a book for Sugbuanong Binisaya because creating one would not be useful to other native languages in other parts of the region because of the variation of definitions.
“So if we will come up with a book and then sa book mao ni na variations atong gamiton, dili na magamit didto sa lain,” he said.
He added that even before the law was passed, DepEd-7 had already made the decision to use Filipino and English textbooks for students from Kindergarten to Grade 3 instead of the Sinugbuanong Binisaya.
“What happen man gud sa atong Sinugbuanong Binisaya is it complicates. Why? Because we follow the dictionary of the LUDABI (Lubas sa Dagang Bisaya) nga mas lisod man hinoon,” he shared.
Asked on his assessment of the use of MTB-MLE, Jimenez said there were advantages and disadvantages.
“I think in a way naa pud siyay natabang but in a way naa puy confusions happening in the field. Dili jud totally ka assess kay depende man sa hingtungdan,” Jimenez said.
The RA 12027 lapsed into law after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not act on the enrolled bill that Congress transmitted to the Palace. The new law is set to take effect on October 27, 2024 after the required 15-day publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
The new law effectively reverted to Filipino and English the medium of instructions in all schools in accordance with the Article XIV, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution. — (FREEMAN)