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CEBU City: The bill seeking to place English back as
the medium of instruction in all elementary and high schools has
received the support of 207 out of 240 congressmen, according to its
principal author, Rep. Eduardo Gullas (First District, Cebu).
Panay News reported that House
Bill 305 or the Proposed Act to Strengthen and Enhance the Use of
English as the Medium of Instruction in Philippine Schools might be
passed in January with the support it is getting from the House of
Representatives.
Gullas said Speaker Jose de
Venecia Jr. would have wanted HB 305 approved before December 15 and
he even wrote a note to House Majority Leader Arthur Defensor (Iloilo,
Third District), saying that the approval of the bill could be the
best Christmas gift to the nation.
But since there were only three
days left before their Christmas break on Thursday, the bill could
be deliberated only when sessions resume after the New Year or in
January 2008.
Gullas said the bill was passed
on third and final reading in the 13th Congress but the Senate did
not act on it, so the bill was refiled with the 14th Congress.
The Legislative Economic
Development Council, chaired by President Gloria Arroyo, also agreed
during its meeting on December 11 to prioritize the bill.
Section 4 of the HB 305 proposes
that English, Filipino or the regional/native language may be used
as the medium of instruction (MOI) in all subjects from preschool
until grade 2, but English shall become the MOI in all academic
subjects from grade 3 to grade 6 and in all levels of high school.
The same section said that
English and Filipino should be taught as separate subjects in these
levels.
In the tertiary level, the
current language policy as prescribed by the Commission on Higher
Education shall be maintained.
In addition to formal
instruction, the use of English shall be encouraged as language of
interaction in the school, HB 305 said.
It also encouraged the
organization of English-based clubs such as book, oratorical,
debating, writing and related associations. In school publications,
the use of English shall be given priority.
Section 5 of HB 305 proposes that
government examinations and entrance examinations to public schools
and state colleges and universities at all levels shall use English,
provided it may include questions in Filipino for which the credit
for such questions shall not exceed 10 percent of the total points
in the examination.
Under Section 7, the Department
of Education (DepEd) must formulate, develop and provide all the
requirements, devices and support facilities to strengthen and
enhance English as MOI.
If the bill becomes law, HB 305
proposes that an implementing rules and regulations be promulgated
by the DepEd, but it will be crafted and approved by the
Congressional Oversight Committee on Education, which will be
comprised by three members of the House and another three members of
the Senate.
Gullas said there is a need to
revert to English as a medium of instruction in schools because the
Filipino youth’s English proficiency suffered a setback after the
DepEd introduced the Bilingual Policy in 1974.
“The bill aims to correct the
defects of the current bilingual education program of the Department
of Education. Its ultimate objective is the improvement of the
learning process in schools to ensure quality outputs,” Gullas
added.
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