Kinder to Grade 3 students to be taught in Filipino and English—DepEd
The Department of Education has mandated that students from Kindergarten to Grade 3 will receive instruction in both Filipino and English, starting in Academic Year 2025-2026.
This new policy, outlined in DepEd Order No. 020,s. 2025 dated July 3, aligns with Republic Act 12027, which discontinues the use of mother tongue as the primary medium of instruction for these grade levels.
Under the new directive, instruction for Kinder to Grade 3 learners must be primarily in Filipino and English, while Deaf and hard-of-hearing students will receive instruction in Filipino Sign Language.
Meanwhile, regional languages will be the auxiliary media of instruction, “using translanguaging to support the transition of all types of learners from one language to another.”
Per the DepEd order, section two of RA 12027 still allows schools and community learning centers, including those under the Indigenous Peoples Education Program, the option to use the learner’s language as the medium of instruction, provided that they meet specified conditions.
“This order shall rescind the language provisions for Key Stage 1 in DepEd Order 010, series of 2024, otherwise known as the Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum," DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara wrote. “All other related issuances, rules, regulations and provisions that are inconsistent with this order are repealed, rescinded, or modified accordingly.”
Angara further explained that while the mother-based medium of instruction showed positive results in particular areas where students shared a common first language, achieving a unified language nationally made it difficult.
“Classrooms across the country that are multilingual or characterized by language variation faced challenges, making uniform implementation difficult,” he said. He also noted the lack of teacher preparation, as well as the shortage of developmentally appropriate and localized reading materials in the first language, and the overall policy execution hindered the MTB-MLE's objectives.
RA 12027 was enacted to fill in the said gaps. The order will take effect for all schools in the Philippines offering Kindergarten and Grade 3 this school year.
Meanwhile, community-based learning programs under the Alternative Learning System, Community Learning Centers, Indigenous Peoples Education Program, Special Education Center, and other schools offering flexible learning modes must use language tailored to their students' needs.
