Certificate Program on Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education

The Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) signed an agreement with the

University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) that would help improve the quality of instruction of teachers handling Kindergarten and Grades 1-3 pupils in public schools last March 21 at RAFI Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center.

Through the "Certificate Program on Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual

Education (MTB-MLE) for Public School Teachers", 80 teachers from Cebu province will be given intensive training on the utilization of the MTB-MLE in the teaching-learning process. The usage of the mother tongue in Kindergarten to Grade 3 is one of the features of the K-12 educational program.

The 80 teachers will be selected over the summer by a panel composed of

representatives of RAFI, USJ-R College of Education, and Department of Education 7. They will be enrolled in USJ-R for two trimesters under the Master of Education in Early Childhood Education Program, where they are expected to come up with quality MTB-MLE instructional materials and mentor their colleagues on effective MTB-MLE

instruction.

Complementing the teacher's training is a language mapping research in Cebu, which will be conducted to serve as the basis for the designs of the instructional materials. The university's research team will also study the effectiveness of the MTB-MLE instruction.

The training aims to equip the public school teachers with theoretical and

practical approaches that would be best used in the implementation of the MTB-MLE, which is already employed in Kindergarten and Grade 1, and will be executed in Grade 2 by June.

The partnership is supported by RAFI's Grants through the RAFI Development Fund. It aims to contribute to the improvement of education quality by making relevant and effective resources available and providing access to better learning opportunities.

This year, RAFI once again seeks proposals for projects in Cebu province to

receive financial assistance through the RAFI Development Fund. Priority projects this year include curriculum development, integration, and management; alternative delivery mode (ADM); alternative learning system (ALS); technical and vocational education and training; and initiatives that support or enhance the K-12 program.