Which DepEd Order addresses MTBME (DO no.)?

• A. DepEd Order no. 31 s. 2012
• B. DepEd Order no. 16 s. 2012
• C. DepEd Order no. 74 s. 2012
• D. DepEd Order no. 57 s. 2010

Answer: (B)

MTB-MLE policy is about using the learner’s mother tongue as the primary medium of instruction in the early years of schooling and building materials and training around that foundation. DepEd Order No. 16, s. 2012 is the one that codifies this approach, giving the policy guidelines for implementing Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education. It sets that instruction in the early grades should be delivered in the learner’s home language, with Filipino and English introduced progressively as students advance. It also covers the development of learning resources in local languages, teacher training to support MTB-MLE, and the overall framework for rollout and assessment.

The other orders are about different topics in education policy and do not establish the MTB-MLE framework, so they don’t address this approach.