MANILA — Only 38 percent of students in grades 1 to 3 preferred their local language as a medium of instruction in schools, according to a Pulse Asia survey commissioned by Senator Win Gatchalian.
Released on Saturday, the results of the survey of 1,200 respondents — which was conducted September 17 to 21 last year — showed that only 38 percent of them favored the local language spoken by the people in a particular region, while Filipino, the national language, was the most preferred at 88 percent, followed by English at 71 percent.
The respondents were asked their opinion on which language or languages should be used as the chief medium of instruction for students in grades 1 to 3.
Meanwhile, the survey revealed that at least half of respondents in the Visayas and Mindanao preferred their local language as the medium of instruction for grades 1 to 3.
"Only 18% of respondents in the National Capital Region (NCR) and 33% in Luzon have the same preference," Gatchalian's office said in a statement Saturday.
"The survey also says less than half of respondents across classes ABC (41%), D (36%), and E (48%) prefer the local language as a medium of instruction for Grades 1 to 3 learners," it added.
As chair of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Gatchalian said he will press for a review of the implementation of the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education.