The Philippine Business for Education on Tuesday expressed it full support to the Department of Education’s decision to conduct a review and improve the implementation of the Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education program.
The PBEd stressed that the Education department’s decision is a welcome development as many challenged are already anchored on its execution such as compliance with the minimum requirements set by the law, need for localized learning materials, alignment between teacher education programs and the MTB-MLE framework and the need for assessment and monitoring tools.
To recall, DepEd Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III said during a hearing before the Senate basic education panel on Monday that the agency will remove mother tongue as a subject for Grades 1 to 3 to decongest the existing curriculum, adding that the mother tongue will still be used as a medium of instruction.
In line with this development, the PBEd said that the government and private sector must work together and maximize all the tools at their disposal in order to quell the impact of the learning crisis that the country is facing.
The Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education policy is a globally-proven effective instrument in enhancing the learning of students in the early grades as they read and study in the language that they use at home.
Studies conducted by UNICEF and UNESCO have shown that learners not only do better when they are taught in their mother tongue, but they also develop a more positive attitude in continuing their education.