Tuesday, September 30, 2008 Gullas confident House will approve English bill
REPRESENTATIVE Eduar-do R. Gullas (Cebu, 1st district) is confident that his proposed English Bill will be approved in the House of Representatives before the year ends.
Gullas yesterday said the House committees on basic education and the technical and higher education already approved last Monday his House Bill (HB) 305, an act to strengthen and enhance the use of English as the medium of instruction in Philippine schools.
Once approved, the measure will revive English as the mandatory language for teaching in all school levels.
Support
Gullas’ optimism is boosted by the support of 205 lawmakers who signed as co-authors of his English Bill. The number comprises more than a majority of the 238 members of the House of Representatives.
Also, if enacted, HB 305 will eventually supersede the 1974 Department of Education (DepEd) order that implements the bilingual teaching policy in all Philippine schools.
Discussion
With the committee’s recent approval, the measure will be tackled soon by the House committee on rules, which will then schedule it for plenary deliberation in the House.
Originally, Gullas filed HB 4701, his original English Bill, which was approved in the House during the 13th Congress in September 2006.
However, it was stalled in the Senate until the 13th Congress adjourned in June last year.
The Christmas break and the long preparation for the May 14 polls were cited as among the factors that delayed the passage of his bill.
After getting a fresh mandate in the May 2007 polls, the Cebuano legislator re-filed his proposed bill during the opening session of the 14th Congress last year.
Gullas said his measure has already been listed as among the priority bills in the House.
Other bills
The two other similar English bills filed by Reps. Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north) and Luis Villafuerte (Camarines Sur) will just be consolidated in his proposal.
In his explanatory note, Gullas said the bill’s main aim is to correct the defects of the current Bilingual Education Program and improve the learning process in schools.
He said the bilingual teaching has impeded the students’ growth to gain proficiency in English.
Too much
Young Filipino students, especially those in the non-Tagalog speaking regions, find it too much to learn two languages (English and Filipino), because “books in almost all disciplines are written in English, such as science and mathematics,” Gullas said.
Under Section 4 entitled as Medium of Instruction (MOI), it mandates the following:
• English, Filipino or the regional language shall be the MOI in all subjects from pre-school to Grade 2;
• English and Filipino shall be taught as separate subjects in all levels of elementary and high school;
• English shall be the MOI in all academic subjects from Grade 3 to Grade 6, and in all levels of high school;
• 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 a language of interaction in school. The organization of English clubs such as book,
oratorical, debating, writing and related associations shall be encouraged.
It also proposes the use of English as the language of assessment in all government examinations and entrance tests in all public schools and state universities and colleges.
It requires the DepEd to provide all the devices, training and support facilities to strengthen and enhance English as the MOI. (GC)
