SENATOR Pia Cayetano raised the need to balance the use of the mother tongue and other languages to ensure that children will be adept in speaking the top languages of the world.

“When we talk about the mother tongue, and how we are ensuring that our children understand what we’re teaching them, we also have to look into the future. What is the world that they need to be prepared for?” Cayetano said.

“We need to prepare them with the 21st century skills. These include communication, collaboration, being able to work in different environments, ability to adapt and language is very central to this,” she added.

The senator said that Filipino learners should be equipped with the proper knowledge and skills to meet the demands of the future job market.

The Senate Committee on Basic Education is assessing the impact of the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education policy under the K-12 law.

The law mandates the use of learners’ first language as the medium of instruction for Grades 1 to 3.