DepEd says removal of Mother Tongue as a subject ‘not yet final’

On Tuesday, October 18, the Department of Education (DepEd) clarified that the decision to remove Mother Tongue as a subject has not yet been finalized.

The removal of the Mother Tongue as a subject is not yet final,

DepEd spokesman Michael Poa said, stating that the review of the curriculum for the Kinder to Grade 10 (K-10) program has yet to be completed.

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Poa announced the clarification after Education Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III said on Monday that there was already a consensus on the removal of the subject for Grades 1 to 3.

We will continue using the mother tongue as a medium of instruction for students in Kindergarten to Grade 3. But we also agreed on something that can help decongest the curriculum… We all agreed in the curriculum and instruction division to do away with the 50 minutes of mother tongue as a subject,

Densing said.

However, Poa explained that DepEd is still checking with stakeholders, the academe, and other government agencies over the curriculum review.

Our review is not yet over. Once we have the final curriculum, that is when we will release an announcement about what will happen to the programs, not only Mother Tongue, but also in our learning competencies,

he said.

The Mother Tongue subject focuses on the development of students’ speaking, reading, and writing skills with their first or local language under the K-12 program.

There are 19 local languages being used in schools countrywide.