City schools to use Pangasinan as medium of instruction
ALL public schools in Dagupan, except one, will adopt the Pangasinan language as a medium of instruction for kindergarten to Grade III under the new K + 12 program starting this school year and the mother-tongue literacy program.
Pangasinan is the main tongue spoken in the city, except a portion of Barangay Calmay which is also known as Calmay Ilocano whose residents mainly have roots in Ilocos Sur.
There are two public elementary schools in Calmay, a village separated from mainland Dagupan by the Calmay River, one of which will use Pangasinan and the other Ilocano.
Dr. William Macob, education program supervisor of the Department of Education in Dagupan, said the city schools division is now ready to implement the mother-based instruction from kindergarten to Grade III under the K to 12 program, including in Calmay Ilocano.
It was the late Attorney Regino Ravanzo, a former councilor of Dagupan who came from Calmay Ilocano, who said their ancestors came from Ilocos Sur and that the influx of Ilocanos to Calmay intensified in the 60s when they escaped from the terror of the “saka-sakas” in Ilocos Sur.
Four teachers at the Calmay Ilocano Elementary School have been trained in nearby San Fernando City, La Union, a predominantly Ilocano area.
Macob, speaking at the KBP forum on Thursday, said all other teachers attended seminars on K to 12 held in the cities of Baguio, San Fernando, Dagupan City and the capital Manila from April to May.
Macob also pointed out that three schools in Dagupan have been used as pilot areas for the mother tongue-based instruction, namely those in Caranglaan, Bacayao Norte and Bacayao Sur.
Based on the evaluation of a study group from the University of the Philippines, implementation of the mother tongued-based education in these pilot areas was successful.
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
