Senator Win Gatchalian is alarmed that nearly 10 years after the K to 12 law (Republic Act No. 10533) institutionalized Mother-Tongue Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE), a study has found that less than only 10% of the country's schools is ready to effectively implement the program.
While the Department of Education (DepEd) is yet to conduct its own impact study on MTB-MLE, a 2019 survey by state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) revealed that only 9% out of 16,287 schools surveyed conducted four activities needed to successfully implement MTB-MLE. These activities are the writing of big books on language, literature, and culture; documentation of the orthography of the language; documentation of grammar; and documentation of a dictionary of the language.
The same study by PIDS also identified schools' reasons for not implementing the MTB-MLE, which included teachers' lack of relevant teaching materials, schools' lack of dictionary of the language, students' lack of textbooks, and teachers' lack of expertise in the school's medium of instruction.
An assessment of the DepEd also showed that out of the 305,099 educators the department targeted to train, only 72,872 underwent training, including supervisors, school heads, and teachers from kindergarten to Grade 3.
"Our schools are not ready and our teachers are also not ready because based on DepEd's information, only 23% have been trained and that's not a good sign also in terms of making sure that the mother tongue is successfully implemented on the ground," said Gatchalian, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.
Gatchalian has urged the DepEd to conduct its impact study on the implementation of the MTB-MLE.
Under the K to 12 Law, education, instruction, teaching materials and assessment from kindergarten up to Grade 3 shall be in the regional or native language of the learners. The DepEd is mandated under the law to formulate a mother language transition program from Grade 4 to Grade 6 so that Filipino and English shall be gradually introduced as languages of instruction until such time that these two languages can become the primary languages of instruction at the secondary level.
The Senate basic education panel's review of the MTB-MLE is part of a broader review on the implementation of the K to 12, which Gatchalian sought in Proposed Senate Resolution No. 5.
Mga paaralan hindi handa sa pagpapatupad ng programa sa mother tongue - Gatchalian
Nababahala si Senador Win Gatchalian na bagama't halos isang dekada na ang lumipas bago isabatas ang pagpapatupad ng Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education batay sa K to 12 Law (Republic Act No. 10533), lumalabas sa isang pag-aaral na wala pang sampung porsyento sa mga paaralan sa bansa ang handang ipatupad ang programa.
Bagama't nakatakda ang Department of Education (DepEd) na magsagawa ng sarili nitong impact study sa naturang programa, lumabas sa isang pag-aaral ng Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) na siyam na porsyento lamang sa 16,287 na paaralang na-survey ang nakapagsagawa ng apat na kinakailangang gawain para sa epektibong pagpapatupad ng MTB-MLE. Ang mga gawaing ito ay ang pagsusulat ng mga big books sa wika, panitikan, at kultura; dokumentasyon ng ortograpiya ng wika; dokumentasyon ng grammar o balarila ng wika; at ang dokumentasyon ng diksyunaryo ng wika.
Tinukoy din sa nasabing pag-aaral ang dahilan ng mga paaralan kung bakit bigo silang ipatupad ang MTB-MLE. Kabilang dito ang kakulangan ng mga gamit sa pagtuturo, kawalan ng diksyunaryo, kakulangan o kawalan ng mga textbook, at ang kakulangan ng mga guro sa kaalaman sa wikang ginagamit ng paaralan sa pagtuturo.
Iniulat din ng DepEd na sa target nitong 305,099 na mga educators ay 72,872 lamang ang sumailalim sa pagsasanay. Kabilang dito ang mga supervisors, school heads, at mga guro mula Kindergarten hanggang Grade 3.
"Hindi handa ang ating mga paaralan at hindi rin handa ang ating mga guro dahil batay sa impormasyon ng DepEd, 23% lamang ang nabigyan ng training. Hindi ito magandang senyales upang matiyak natin na maayos na naipatutupad ang mother tongue sa ating mga paaralan," pahayag ni Gatchalian, Chairman ng Senate Committee on Basic Education.
Hinimok ni Gatchalian ang DepEd na magsagawa ng sarili nitong impact study sa pagpapatupad ng MTB-MLE.
Sa ilalim ng K to 12 Law, ang pagtuturo, mga kagamitan sa pagtuturo, at assessment mula kindergarten hanggang Grade 3 ay dapat isagawa sa pangunahing wika ng mga mag-aaral. May mandato rin ang DepEd na magpatupad ng mother language transition program mula Grade 4 hanggang Grade 6 upang unti-unting magamit ang Filipino at English bilang wika ng pagtuturo sa high school.
Ang ginawang pagsusuri ng Senado sa MTB-MLE ay bahagi ng isang mas malawak na pagrepaso sa programa ng K to 12 na isinulong ni Gatchalian sa paghain niya ng Proposed Senate Resolution No. 5.
