The Cordillera Regional Social Development Committee (RSDC-CAR) advances a culture-based approach to Mother Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTB-MLE) in the region with the endorsement of its resolution on the contextualization of the MTB-MLE during its quarterly meeting held virtually on 08 June, 2021.
The culture-based approach proposed by the Department of Education (DepEd-CAR) focuses on the Cordillera culture and use of language as a way to build relationships and create a sense of community in the learning areas for Kindergarten to Grade 3, the formative years of all learners.
Setting the background, proponent DepEd-CAR Dir. Estela Cariño said that not all learners in the same community in the region understand one community language since specific local languages are spoken such as Ibaloi, Karao, Kankanaey, among others; however, all would understand English or Filipino.
Cariño added that their data shows 64 percent of the learners from Kindergarten to Grade 3 did not meet the expectations for beginning proficiency based on the administered assessment with Iloko as the mother tongue. Such low results have been happening since the implementation of the Mother Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education in 2012.
Said resolution responds to the language diversity at the local level with the use of Filipino or English as the media of instruction and the regional language as auxiliary medium of instruction. Committee Chair and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Regional Director Arnel B. Garcia said that the policy measure captures the preservation of culture and language, notwithstanding the use of Filipino and English as mediums of instruction.
DSWD Director Garcia who took over former RD Leo Quintilla was selected as the new Committee Chairperson during the meeting. The Secretariat also welcomed the new officials namely, NEDA Dir. Susan A. Sumbeling, CHED Dir. Demetrio Anduyan, DOLE Dir. Nathaniel Lacambra, and Philhealth Acting Regional Vice President Dominga Gadgad. By Marissa M. Cabato
