THE PHILIPPINE
EDUCATIONAL
SYSTEM
HISTORY
 Education From Ancient Early Filipinos
- Children were provided more vocational training
but less academics in their houses by their parents
and in the houses of their tribal tutors. They were
using a unique system of writing known as
the baybayin.
 Spanish Period
- During the early Spanish period most education
was carried out by the religious orders. The schools
focused on the Christian Doctrines.
 First Republic
-The schools maintained by Spain for more than three
centuries were closed for a short period but were
reopened on August 29, 1898 by the Secretary of
Interior. The Burgos Institute in Malolos, the Military
Academy of Malolos, and the Literary University of the
Philippines were established. Article 23 of the Malolos
Constitution mandated that public education would be
free and obligatory in all schools of the nation under
the First Philippine Republic.
 American Period
-Building on the education system created in 1863,
an improved public school system was established
during the first decade of American rule upon the
recommendation of the Schurman Commission.
Free primary instruction that trained the people for
the duties of citizenship and avocation was
enforced by the Taft Commission per instructions of
President William McKinley.
-Education during this time also emphasized
nationalism, vocational education and good
manners and discipline.
 After World War II
-In 1947, by the virtue of Executive Order No. 94, the
Department of Instruction was changed to
the Department of Education. During this period, the
regulation and supervision of public and private
schools belonged to the Bureau of Public and Private
Schools.
 Marcos Era
-In 1972, the Department of Education became the
Department of Education and Culture by the virtue
of Proclamation 1081 which was signed by President
Ferdinand Marcos.
 Fifth Republic
-On February 2, 1987, a new Constitution for the
Philippines was ratified. Section 3, Article XIV of
the 1987 Constitution contains the ten
fundamental aims of education in the Philippines.
-In 1987 by virtue of Executive Order No. 117,
the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports,
became the Department of Education, Culture and
Sports. The structure of DECS as embodied in the
order remained practically unchanged until 1994.
 Implementation Of The K-12 Program
- The implementation of the K-12 program is "phased".
The first phase of the implementation will start
on SY 2012-2013. During this school year,
universal kindergarten will be finally offered, and will
now be a part of the compulsory education system;
and a new curriculum for Grade 1 and Grade 7 students
would be introduced. By SY 2016-2017, Grade 11/Year
5 will be introduced, and Grade 12/Year 6 by SY 20172018; with the phased implementation of the new
curriculum finished by the SY 2017-2018. Students in
2nd year to 4th year high school this SY 2012-2013 are
not included in the program. It is only applicable to
students from Kinder to 1st year high school which is
now called Grade 7.
EDUCATION SYSTEM
Three Modes On Delivery Of Instructions:
1. Normal Education
2. Alternative Learning System
3. Alternative Delivery Mode
COMPULSORY EDUCATION
(Pattern of Education)
 Elementary School
- Elementary school, sometimes called primary
school
or
grade
school
(Filipino:
paaralang
elementarya;mababang paaralan), is the first part of the
educational system, and it includes the first six years of
compulsory education (grades 1-6). These grades are
further grouped (informally) accordingly into: primary
level, which includes the first three grades (grades 1-3),
and intermediate level, which includes the last three
grades (grades 4-6).
The elementary school education covers a smaller but
wider than the junior and senior high school because of
the spiral approach educational technique.
 Secondary School
- Secondary school in the Philippines, more commonly
known as "high school" (Filipino: paaralang
sekundarya, sometimes mataas na paaralan), consists
of four levels largely based on the American schooling
system as it was until the advent of
the comprehensive high schools in the US in the
middle of last century. The Philippine high school
system has not moved much from where it was when
the Philippines achieved independence from the US in
1946. It still consists of only four levels with each level
partially compartmentalized, focusing on a particular
theme or content.
 Tertiary Education
-Tertiary education in the Philippines is increasingly
less cosmopolitan. From a height of 5,284 foreign
of students in 1995–1996 the number steadily
declined to 2,323 in 2000–2001, the last year CHED
published numbers on its website.
Technical and Vocational Education
-Technical and vocational education is offered to
enhance students' practical skills at institutions
usually accredited and approved by TESDA.
Government Sector
The government has 3 main branches that manage
education system in the Philippines; these are the:
 Department of Education (DepEd)
 Commission on higher Education (CHED)
 Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority (TESDA).
The K to 12 Program
The K to 12 Program covers kindergarten and 12
years of basic education (six years of primary
education, four years of junior high school, and two
years of senior high school [SHS]) to provide
sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills,
develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for
tertiary education, middle-level skills development,
employment, and entrepreneurship.
A. Salient Features
1. Universal Kindergarten Education
Kindergarten has now been integrated into the
basic education system to ensure that all grade 1
students are ready for academic learning. Universal
kindergarten started in SY 2011–2012 with a budget
of P2.3 billion and was made mandatory starting SY
2012–2013 through the signing of Republic Act No.
10157 entitled “An Act Institutionalizing the
Kindergarten Education into the Basic Education
System and Appropriating Funds Therefor” on
January 20, 2012.
2. Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education.
The mother tongue will be the medium of
instruction from kindergarten to grade 3. This includes
the following: Tagalog, Kapampangan, Pangasinense,
Iloko, Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Tausug,
Maguindanaoan, Maranao, and Chabacano. Medium
of instruction will be English and Filipino starting
grade 4.
3. Core Academic Areas.
The core academic areas include Math; Filipino;
English;
Araling
Panlipunan;
Edukasyon
sa
Pagpapakatao; and Music, Arts, Physical Education,
and Health (MAPEH). These are based on the College
Readiness Standards of the Commission on Higher
Education and are equivalent to the courses offered
under the General Education Curriculum of Higher
Education Institutions.
Science will be taught in grade 3, but its concepts will
be integrated in other subjects like Health (under
MAPEH), Math, and Languages in grades 1 and 2.
Edukasyong Pangtahanan at Pangkabuhayan will be
taught starting in grade 4. Technology and Livelihood
Education and technical–vocational specializations,
consistent with the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority training regulations, will start
in grade 7.
4. Specializations.
The additional two years (grades 11 and 12)
or SHS will allow students to choose among
academic, technical–vocational, or sports and
arts tracks depending on their interest, the
community needs, and the results of their skills
assessment. The SHS will allow mastery of core
competencies for lifelong learning and
preparedness for work, higher education,
middle-level
skills
development,
or
entrepreneurship.
B. Implementation and Transition Management
Program implementation will be in phases starting
this June for SY 2012–2013. Grade 1 entrants in SY 2012–
2013 will be the first batch to fully undergo the program,
and incoming first-year high school students (or grade 7)
in SY 2012–2013 will be the first to undergo the junior
high school curriculum. To prepare teachers for the new
curriculum, a nationwide summer training program for
about 140,000 grades 1 and 7 public school teachers will
be held in May. The Department of Education (DepEd) is
also working with various private school associations to
cover teachers in private schools. To facilitate the
transition from the existing ten-year basic education to
12 years, the DepEd will also implement the SHS
Readiness Assessment and K to 12 Modeling.
C. Social Benefits of the Program
The perceived benefits of the program include: i)
placing the Philippine education system at par
with international standards, following the
Washington Accord and the Bologna Accord; and
ii) contributing to the development of a better
educated society capable of pursuing productive
employment, entrepreneurship, or higher
education disciplines.
D. Ensuring Sustainability of the Program
Enhancing the basic education curriculum and
increasing the number of years for basic
education was adopted as a Common Legislative
Agenda during the February 28, 2011 Legislative–
Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC)
meeting. The administration-supported bills that
aim to increase the number of years for basic
education are Senate Bill 2713 (Recto), House Bill
(HB) 4219 (Belmonte), and HB 4199 (Escudero).
These bills are pending at the Committee Level.
ISSUES
 Budget
 * kuwang ang budget nga gihatag sa government
then probably korakoton pa jd so mao nang na.ay
mga issues.
 E.g:
 Sub-standard textbooks, overworked and under paid
teachers, contractualization of teachers and mediocer
classrooms.
Eurocentric
*sunod-sunod rata sa mga taga gawas.. Wla jud
ka.ayo mga laking pinoy. Mas importante and
IMPORTED kay sa LOCAL
E.g:
colonial histography
Fly-by-night educational institutions.
By any measure, the proliferation of fly-by-night
educational institutions is counter-productive. In
the long run, it produces a pool of half-baked,
unprepared,
and
incompetent
graduates.
Alarmingly, the country is having an over-supply
already. Some would even consider them as
liabilities than assets. This case is true for both
undergraduate
and
graduate
studies.
Culturally and gender insensitive educational system.
Women, the common tao and the indigenous people
are almost historically excluded from the Philippine
historiography in favor of the men, heroes from
Luzon and the power elite. Women are
marginalized and trivialized even in language of
education. Take the case of the terms female
lawyer (as if lawyer as a profession is exclusive only
to men) and manpower (which should have been
human resources or human capital to be more
politically
correct).
State abandonment of education.
In the name of imperialist globalization, the state—
in an incremental fashion—is abandoning its role
to subsidize public education particularly in the
tertiary level. This comes in the form of
matriculation, laboratory and miscellaneous fee
increases in order to force state colleges and
universities (SCUs) to generate their own sources
of fund. Ironically, the bulk of the budget (in fact,
more than one-third in the case of 2005 National
Budget)
goes
to
debt
servicing.
Sub-standard textbooks.
Some textbooks which are already circulation are
both poorly written and haphazardly edited. Take
the case of the Asya: Noon at Ngayon with an
identified total number of more than 400 historical
errors. Unfortunately, it is just one of the many
other similar atrociously written textbooks which
are yet to be identified and exposed. This is a
classic case of profit-centeredness without regard
to
social
accountability.
Widespread contractualization.
In the name of profit, owners and administrators of
several private schools commonly practice
contractualization among their faculty members.
Contractual
employees
unlike
their
regular/tenured counterparts are not entitled to
fringe benefits which consequently reduces the
over-all cost of their business operation. Job
insecurity demeans the ranks of the faculty
members.
Undue disregard for specialization.
Some colleges and universities encourage their
faculty pool to be generalists (under the guise of
multidisciplinary approach to learning) in order to
be able to handle various subjects all at once. But
some faculty members have turned out to be
objects of mockery and have lost their self-esteem
since some of them were pushed to handle
Technical Writing, General Psychology, Filipino,
and Algebra at the same time. This is prevalent
among some franchised academic institutions even
if the subjects are already off-tangent their area of
interest
and
specialization.
Copy-pasting culture.
Over-dependence
to
the
cyberspace
has
dramatically reduced the capability of students
(even teachers) to undertake research. ‘Copypasting’ has even turned into a norm among some
students whenever they are tasked to submit a
research paper or even a film review. Needless to
say, plagiarism has already transformed into a
more sophisticated form in the context of today’s
electronic
age.
Mcdonaldized education.
The system, methodology, and even content of
education in the Philippines are mere haphazard
transplantation from the West. It is therefore
Eurocentric, culturally insensitive, and nonreflective of the local milieu. This is based on the
xenocentric (foreign-centered) premise that other
culture or system is far more superior than one’s
own.
The problem of non-sustainability and noncontinuity.
Teachers, administrators and publishers are all left in
limbo whenever the DepEd would come up with
another totally different directive from what it
used to have in a rather very sudden interval. Take
the case of the grading system, timeframe
allotted to various subjects, MAKABAYAN
program,
readiness
test,
and
learning
competencies
(LC).
Poor regard for liberal art/education.
Liberal education is intended to form a holistic
individual equipped with communication, critical
thinking, mathematical, creative, inter-personal and
intra-personal skills. This explains why we also have
Philosophy, Languages, Humanities, Natural
Science, Social Science, Physical Education and even
Theology in our college curriculum, and not only our
major subjects. The curriculum is specifically
designed to produce a total person, and not only a
technical specialist. Unfortunately, the desired
objective is not being met at all since liberal
education is regarded only as a set of minor subjects.
* Continuation of Poor Regard For Liberal Art/Education
With the way these subjects are being handled
(taking into account both content and
methodology), students view the entire exercise as
an unnecessary duplication of what they have
already covered in high school. Equally alarming is
the lack of enthusiasm and motivation exhibited
by some professors to handle the subject
especially if they believe that it has nothing to do
with the course or area of specialization of their
students (say, Art Appreciation for Accounting
majors or Algebra for Creative Writing majors).
Education a purveyor of myth.
Education has been very effective in mainstreaming
and perpetuating the social myths in a subtle and
indirect manner. Some of these myths are the
perceived superiority of white, educated men,
‘official’ history as advanced by the western point
of view, globalization as the only way to achieve
economic development, and stereotypes against
the minoritized and the disenfranchised.
Further marginalization of the undersubscribed
courses.
In the name of profit and as a response to the
dictates of the market forces, colleges and
universities prefer to offer more courses in line
with the health sciences like nursing, medical
transcription, and care-giving. This is done at the
expense of the already undersubscribed yet
relevant courses like Area Studies, Pilipinolohiya
(Philippine Studies), Development Studies,
Philippine Arts, Art Studies, Community
Development, Social Work, Islamic Studies,
Clothing Technology, and Ceramics Engineering.
Monolithic education.
Some educators in the name of conservatism and
for the sake of convenience, prefer the old-style
teaching paradigm where they view themselves
as the fountain of knowledge and their students
as nothing but empty vessels to be filled up
(banking method of education). Modern
education has ushered in learner-centered
approach to education (from being the sage in
the stage to just a guide on the side).
Atrociously boring teachers.
As I always underscore, there are no boring
subjects, only boring teachers. But at least we
should recognize them because they still serve a
purpose. They serve as bad examples.