(PNA photo by Gil Calinga) MANILA - A language spoken in a particular region is the least preferred medium of instruction for Grades 1 to 3, the results of a Pulse Asia survey showed. The survey, conducted from Sept. 17 to 21 last year, asked 1,200 respondents what language should be used as the primary mode of instruction for Grades 1 to 3 students. Only 38 percent picked the dialect in their region, while Filipino was the most preferred (88 percent), followed by English (71 percent). Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Committee on Basic Education and who commissioned the survey, said in a news release on Saturday that he would pursue a thorough and rigorous review of the implementation of the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE), which is mandated by Republic Act (RA) 10533, the Enhanced Basic Education Act or the K to 12 law. Gatchalian also filed last year Proposed Senate Resolution 5 to review the implementation of the K to 12 law. RA 10533 mandates that the education, instruction, teaching materials, and assessment from kindergarten up to Grade 3 shall be in the regional or native language of the learners. The Department of Education is tasked to formulate a mother language transition program from Grades 4 to 6 so that Filipino and English shall be gradually introduced as languages of instruction. At the secondary level, the two languages will become the primary languages of instruction. "Batay sa nakikita natin sa kakayahan ng ating mga paaralan at sa sentimyento ng ating mga kababayan, kinakailangang pag-aralan natin kung ano ang mga susunod na hakbang natin sa paggamit ng mother tongue. Kung ipagpapatuloy man natin ang polisiyang ito, kailangan nating tugunan ang mga hamong kinakaharap nito (Based on our observation of the abilities of schools and what the survey respondents said, we need to study our next steps on the use of the mother tongue. If we are to pursue this policy, we must respond to the challenges related to it)," Gatchalian said. Only 72,872 out of the targeted 305,099 educators underwent training, according to a public hearing last year on the implementation of the MTB-MLE. The figure includes supervisors, school heads, and teachers. (PNA) }