Bilingualism in the Philippine Education

Bilingualism and the Philippine Constitution

The 1986 EDSA Revolution catapulted into power the first woman president, Corazon Aquino, who restored democracy through the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. The constitution declares Filipino as the national language and reiterates the position of English as an official language of the country. As before, both were to serve as languages of instruction. (Sugbo, 2003)

Specifically, this declaration is embodied in Article XIV, Sec. 6 and 7. The provisions are as follows:

1. Section 6. The national language of the Philippines is Filipino. As it evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages.

2. Section 7. For purposes of communication and instruction, the official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English.

The above provisions provided the legal basis for the various language policies that are being implemented in the country today.

Philippine Education Policy on Bilingualism

The Department of Education Culture and Sports, consistent with the 1987 constitutional mandate, promulgated its policy on Bilingualism thru its Department Orde r No. 52, s.1987. The policy states that “Bilingual Education aims at the achievement of competence in both Filipino and English at the national level, through the teaching of both languages and their use as media of instruction at all levels.”

The goals of the Bilingual Education Policy shall be:

1. Enhanced learning through two languages to achieve quality education as called for by the 1987 Constitution;

2. The propagation of Filipino as a language of literacy;

3. The development of Filipino as a linguistic symbol of national unity and identity;

4. The cultivation and elaboration of Filipino as a language of scholarly discourse, that is to say its continuing intellectualization; and the maintenance of English as an international language for the Philippines and as a non-exclusive language of science and technology.

In 1994, Republic Act No. 7722 (Higher Education Act of 1994) was signed creating the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). This Act provides that the CHED shall be independent and separate from the DECS and shall cover both public and private institutions of higher education as well as degree-granting programs in all post-secondary educational institutions, public and private.

One of the first steps undertaken by CHED was to update the General Education Curriculum of tertiary courses leading to an initial bachelor's degree. The requirements of the new GEC are embodied in the CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 59, s. 1996. Listed under miscellaneous of this CMO is its language policy which is as follows:

In consonance with the Bilingual Education Policy underlined in DECS Order No. 52, Series of 1987, the following are the guidelines vis-a-vis medium of instruction, to wit:

1. Language courses, whether Filipino or English, should be taught in that language.

2. At the discretion of the HEI, Literature subjects may be taught in Filipino, English or any other language as long as there are enough instructional materials for the same and both students and instructors/professors are competent in the language.

Courses in the Humanities and Social Sciences should preferably be taught in Filipino.

The above DECS and CHED policies on Bilingual Education aim at teaching English in all levels of school to produce highly literate and skilled workers without obstructing the growth and development of a common national language.

Today these policies has succeeded not only in generating widespread use of English as the medium of communication in government and business, but also in maintaining Filipino as the medium of communication among citizens speaking different languages.

References:

De leon, Hector, Textbook on the Philippine Constitution, Quezon City, Philippines: Rex

Printing Company, 2002.

Espiritu, Clemencia. Language Policies in the Philippines. Downloaded from

<http://www.scribd.com/doc/7270028/Language-Policies-in-the-Philippines>

Sugbo, Victor N. Language Policy and Local Literature in the Philippines. University of the

Philippines in the Visayas, 2003.

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