The House of Representatives gave its approval to the proposed measure suspending the use of mother tongue as a way of teaching students from Kindergarten to Grade 3, after the second reading on Wednesday.
House Bill 6717 was given a nod by the chamber through a voice vote, as it aims to address the lack of learning materials on the mother tongue language in schools and to make sure that a constitution adheres to the mandated provision of quality education which is convenient to all learners in basic education.
As one of the sponsors of this proposed measure, House Committee on Basic Education and Culture chair Roman Romulo emphasized the incomplete set of learning materials in the "major Philippines dialects."
He noted that the bill proposes to suspend the implementation of the mother tongue as the medium of instruction from kindergarten to Grade 3 until the Department of Education (DepEd) can certify to Congress that it has finished its materials to have it used effectively.
Meanwhile, the bill offers use of the first language in schools where it is used to be effective shall continue, mandating the DepEd to coordinate with the Komisyon Sa Wikang Filipino in producing books, teaching materials, and other supplies which are needed to implement the use of mother tongue.
It also directs the DepEd and the KWF to assess the capacity of all local school districts to use the first language as a method for students from kindergarten to Grade 3.
