Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 10157)
The short title is the "Kindergarten Education Act."
The State policy is to provide equal opportunities for all children to avail of accessible, mandatory, and compulsory kindergarten education that promotes physical, social, intellectual, emotional and skills stimulation, and values formation to prepare them for formal elementary schooling.
Kindergarten education is institutionalized as part of the basic education system and is the first stage of compulsory and mandatory formal education preceding Grade 1.
Kindergarten education means one (1) year of preparatory education for children at least five (5) years old as a prerequisite for Grade I.
The primary medium of instruction is the mother tongue of the learner, based on the mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) method.
Exceptions include: (a) when pupils have different mother tongues or speak another mother tongue; (b) when the teacher does not speak the learners' mother tongue; (c) when resources for using the mother tongue are not yet available; and (d) when teachers are not yet trained on the MTB-MLE program.
The Department of Education (DepEd), through the creation of a new Division under the Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE), is vested with this authority.
DepEd duties include overseeing the program's implementation, developing the kindergarten curriculum with MTB-MLE, developing teaching strategies, continuing professional development programs for kindergarten teachers, accrediting teachers, supervising private kindergarten institutions, and introducing innovative programs including educational technologies.
Initial funding for the free, mandatory, and compulsory public kindergarten education is charged against the current appropriations of DepEd for kindergarten education, with continued funding charged to the General Fund and included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
The Act took effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.