Bisaya to be used as medium of instruction in Cebu City

CEBU CITY — The Department of Education (DepEd) will be introducing Bisaya and English as the languages for medium of instruction in the city’s public elementary schools.

City schools superintendent Leonilo Oliva said the new system patterned after Singapore’s will be applied here.

Oliva said schools in Singapore, which she and other city officials recently visited, use its mother language and English in schools.

"I think it is effective because it will be very easy for students to comprehend what is being taught to them," she said.

In the first four months, Oliva said Grade 1 students in Singapore are taught how to read in English and in their country’s language.

Here, students will be taught how to read in Bisaya in the first four months, and subsequently in English.

Oliva said the new system will be piloted in five schools, namely the Barrio Luz, Busay, Camputhaw, Camp Lapu-Lapu and Lahug elementary schools.

He said the city’s teachers will be trained on how to teach in the vernacular.

DepEd regional director Carolino Mordeno is amenable to the new system and hopes that what is being done here can be duplicated in all schools in the region. — Freeman News Service