Lawmaker pushes Mandarin taught in schools nationwide
House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan wants the Chinese language of Mandarin taught in the schools nationwide.
“If we are going to continue to rely on the export of labor to help drive our economic growth, we might as well equip our future workers with Mandarin and other foreign language skills to further build up their competitiveness,” Libanan said.
Libanan, the representative of Pagtibayin at Palaguin ang Pangkabuhayang Pilipino (4Ps) party list, noted: “In foreign labor markets, we already have the edge because our workers can speak English. We should now aspire to double that advantage by encouraging more Filipinos to learn Mandarin at an early age.”
He said elementary and high school students may form Mandarin-speaking clubs, together with English-speaking clubs.
“We already have many young learners from [Chinese-Filipino] families that speak Mandarin. They can help put up Mandarin clubs in their schools,” he suggested.
He also urged state universities and colleges to introduce Mandarin courses.
“We would urge the [Chinese-Filipino]… commerce and industry [group] in every city or province to do their share by offering Mandarin scholarships to students,” Libanan went on.
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