Gadon pushes English as sole medium of instruction

PRESIDENTIAL Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Lorenzo Gadon said stricter implementation of English as the sole medium of instruction in schools was crucial to improve the performance of Filipino students.

«Let us strictly implement this because, in the first place, English has been the common language being used in the world, and in many books and international studies, English is the medium,» Gadon said.

«If a student is poor in English, for sure he/she is not doing well in his/her studies,» he added.

Disbarred lawyer Larry Gadon. File Photo

Gadon said he was in full support of Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara's plans to improve the country's Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) ratings.

«With him at the helm of DepEd (Department of Education), I am hopeful that the Philippines will improve its PISA ratings,» he added.

PISA measures the literacy of 15-year-old students in reading, mathematics and science.

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Gadon said the dismal Philippine rankings of 78/78 in 2018 and 77/81 in 2022 were an indicator of the country's state of basic education.

«In fact, we are now one at the lowest and to think that in the '40s, '50s and '60s, the Philippines was one in Asia that had competent and intelligent students and graduates because the primary medium of instruction back then was English, among others,» he said.