Philippine Education System

• The Philippine education system includes formal and non-formal education.
• Formal education progresses from elementary (grade school) to secondary (high school) and tertiary levels (TVET and higher education).
• The education system is tri-focalized into basic, technical-vocational, and higher education.
• The Department of Education (DepED), headed by a Cabinet Secretary, oversees basic education.
• The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), led by a Director-General, manages technical-vocational education and training.
• The Commission on Higher Education (CHED), under the Office of the Philippine President and headed by a Chairperson of a collegial body of five Commissioners, is responsible for higher education.
• The country's educational nuances are products of its colonial history, population growth, financial funding, and various educational reforms.

History of the Philippine Educational System

• Education has evolved through several stages from pre-Spanish times to the present.
• Education serves as a focus of priorities/emphases of the leadership at certain periods.
• During pre-Magellanic times, education was informal, unstructured, and devoid of methods.
• Children received more vocational training and less academics (3 Rs), instructed by parents and tribal tutors.
• The pre-Spanish system of education changed during the Spanish colonization.
• Spanish Missionaries replaced tribal tutors, and education became religion-oriented.
• Education was primarily for the elite, especially in the early years of Spanish colonization.
• Access to education was liberalized by the Educational Decree of 1863, which mandated a primary school for boys and girls in each town.
• A normal school for male teachers was established under the supervision of the Jesuits.
• Primary instruction was free, and Spanish was compulsory.
• Education during the Spanish era was inadequate, suppressed, and controlled.
• The defeat of Spain by American forces led to Aguinaldo's Republic under a Revolutionary Government.
• Schools were reopened on August 29, 1898, by the Secretary of Interior after being closed.
• The Burgos Institute in Malolos, the Military Academy of Malolos, and the Literary University of the Philippines were established.
• The Malolos Constitution established a system of free and compulsory elementary education.
• During the first decade of American rule, an adequate secularized and free public school system was encouraged.
• The Schurman Commission recommended free primary instruction to train people for citizenship and vocation.
• The Taft Commission, under President McKinley's instructions, enforced this free instruction.
• Chaplains and non-commissioned officers were assigned to teach using English.
• In 1901, Act No. 74 installed a highly centralized public school system.
• The Philippine Commission authorized the Secretary of Public Instruction to bring 600 teachers from the U.S.A., known as the Thomasites, to address the shortage of teachers.

Education Under the Spanish Period

• The principal aim of Spain was to make native Filipinos obedient and God-fearing Christians.
• Religion was a compulsory subject from primary schools to universities.
• The first schools were the parochial schools opened by the missionaries.
• Native children were taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and some vocational and practical art subjects.
• Colleges for boys and girls, equivalent to today's high schools, were later opened.
• Subjects included history, Latin, geography, mathematics, and philosophy.
• There was no co-education; boys and girls studied separately.
• University education began in the Philippines in the early part of the 17th century.
• Colleges and universities were initially open only to Spaniards and those with Spanish blood (mestizos).
• In the 19th century, universities began accepting native Filipinos.
• For nearly 300 years, the Catholic Church was primarily responsible for education.
• In 1863, a royal decree called for the establishment of a public school system in the colony.

Education Under the Americans

• The United States aimed to educate and train Filipinos in the science of self-government.
• Educating Filipinos was a top priority, and schools were opened in Manila in 1898.
• Unlike the Spaniards, Americans made it a point to teach English to the Filipinos.
• American soldiers were the first teachers.
• Free primary education was provided in January 1901, and a school for Filipino teachers was established.
• Compulsory religious instruction was abolished.
• Bright young Filipino students got the opportunity to take up higher education in American colleges and universities.
• These Filipinos, known as "pensionados", were financed by the government.
• Hundreds of Filipino pensionados were able to study in the US until 1928.
• Filipinos flocked to public and private schools in large numbers.

Education Under the Commonwealth

• Education continued to receive the same attention from the Commonwealth government as from the Americans.
• President Quezon created the National Council of Education in 1936 as an advisory body on educational matters.
• Most recommendations were accepted and carried out by the government to improve the educational system, with emphasis on vocational and adult education.
• An organized effort to develop a common national language was started in compliance with the mandate of the 1935 constitution.
• President Quezon encouraged the revival of native culture and desirable Filipino values to counteract American cultural influence.
• President Quezon issued his Code of Ethics to strengthen moral fibers and foster love of country, required to be taught in all schools.
• In 1940, the Educational Act of 1940 reduced the elementary course from 7 to 6 years.
• The minimum age for admission to Grade I was raised to 7, and the school calendar was changed from June-March to July-April.

Education Under the Japanese

• Schools and churches were used as propaganda tools for the Japanese.
• Nippon-go, the Japanese language, was made a compulsory subject in all schools.
• Classes in Nippon-go were opened in government and private offices.
• Japanese Catholic priests were sent to help promote the idea that Japan was a friend to all Asian people, including Filipinos.

Structure of the Philippine Educational System

• The Philippine education system includes Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD), Basic Education, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and Higher Education.
• The Department of Education (DepEd) governs Basic Education schools.
• TESDA governs technical-vocational schools not run by DepEd and offers certification certificates.
• CHED governs tertiary-level institutions offering university and college courses.
• The Department of Education (DepEd), CHED, and TESDA are co-equal in rank, and their heads all have cabinet-level rank.
• The heads of the three agencies are represented in the NEDA Social Development Committee and are members of the Philippine Qualifications Framework.
• The ECCD Council covers health, nutrition, early education, and social services for children ages 0-4 years.
• DepEd covers Kindergarten, Elementary, Junior High School, Senior High School, and the Alternative Learning System.
• TESDA covers Post-Secondary Non-Tertiary Education and Associate Degree / Short-Cycle Tertiary Education.
• CHED covers Associate Degree / Short-Cycle Tertiary Education, Bachelor level education, Advanced / Post Graduate level, Post-Baccalaureate, Master and Doctorate degrees.