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Country, The Philippines
Education
In the Philippines, there are
three levels of education, namely: elementary, secondary and tertiary. Public and private elementary and secondary education
fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education while tertiary education falls under the jurisdiction of the Commission
on Higher Education. Specifically, program design, policy formulation and standardization, curriculum and staff development
in the elementary level and the high school level are managed by the Bureau of Elementary Education and the Bureau of Secondary
Education, respectively. Non-formal education exists, and this type of education is handled by the Bureau of Non-Formal Education.
The structural organization of the Department
of Education consists of two main pillars: the central office, which carries out the overall administrative functions at the
national level, and the field offices, which manage local and regional administration. The Department is headed by the Education
Secretary. Next in rank are the Undersecretaries and Assistant Secretaries. As provided by law, the department can have a
maximum of four Undersecretaries and four Assistant Secretaries.
Related Information
Constitutional Basis of Philippine Education
Article XIV of the 1987 Constitution
is on education, science and technology, arts, culture and sports. It consists of 19 sections and 21 subsections which deal
with 5 major topics, namely: education, language, science and technology, arts and culture, and sports. Some of its provisions
are highlighted in this section and these are the following:
1) It mandates the State to protect and promote
the right of all citizens to quality education and to make such education accessible to all.
2) It mandates the State to establish, maintain
and support a complete, adequate and integrated system of education.
3) It mandates the State to provide for a system
of free public education in the elementary and secondary levels and a system of scholarship grants, student loan programs,
subsidies and other incentives to deserving and under-privileged students.
4) It encourages (and recognizes the value of)
non-formal, informal and indigenous learning systems and self-learning which respond to community needs.
5) It requires all educational institutions to
incorporate the study of the Constitution in their curricula, inculcate patriotism and nationalism, foster love for humanity,
promote respect for human rights and the appreciation of the role of national heroes in the historical development of the
country, teach the rights and duties of citizenship, and encourage critical and creative thinking.
6) It grants academic freedom to all institutions
of higher learning.
7) It mandates the State to enhance the right of
teachers to professional advancement.
8) It mandates the State to give the highest budgetary
priority to education.
9) It makes Filipino as the national language of
the Philippines and adopts English and Filipino as the official languages.
10) It mandates the State to give priority to research
and development and innovation and to protect the rights of scientists, inventors, artists and other gifted citizens to their
intellectual property.
11) It mandates the State to preserve and enrich the
Filipino national culture based on the principles of unity in diversity and free expression.
12) It designates the State as patron of the arts and
letters.
13) It mandates the State to protect the rights of indigenous
cultural communities and to use these rights as inputs for national plans and policies.
14) It mandates the State to promote physical education
and sports programs in order to instill self-discipline and foster teamwork and excellence for the development of a healthy
and alert citizenry.
Some Legal Bases of Philippine Education
EDUCATIONAL DECREE OF 1863: The decree provided for the
establishment of primary school for boys and girls in each town of the country.
ACT NO. 74 OF 1901: Enacted into law by the Philippine
Commission, the Act created the Department of Public Instruction, laid the foundations of the public school system in the
Philippines, provided for the establishment of the Philippine Normal School in Manila and made English as the medium of instruction.
ACT NO. 1870 OF 1908: The law served as the legal basis
for the creation of the University of the Philippines.
VOCATIONAL ACT OF 1927: Also known as Act No. 3377, the
Vocational Act as amended by other acts laid the foundations of vocational education in public schools and made provisions
for its support.
EDUCATION ACT OF 1940: Also known as Commonwealth Act
No. 586, the Education Act laid the foundations for the present six-year elementary course and made provisions for its support.
REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1947: The Act placed public and
private schools under the supervision and control of the Bureau of Public and Private Schools.
REPUBLIC ACT 5250 OF 1966: The Act provided the legal
basis for the implementation of a ten-year teacher education program in special education.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS (DECS) ORDER
NO. 25 OF 1974: Popularly known as the Bilingual Education Program of 1974, the Order required the use of English as medium
of instruction for science and mathematics subjects and the use of Filipino as medium of instruction for all other subjects
in the elementary and high school levels.
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1006 OF 1976: The Decree was
a legal and formal recognition of teachers as professionals and teaching as a profession.
REPUBLIC ACT 6655 OF 1988: Popularly known as the Free Public
Secondary Education Act of 1988, the Act created a system of free education in public high schools.
*Literacy
Rate in the Philippines
Simple Literacy - 92.3% of Filipinos can read and
write as of year 2000
Functional Literacy - 84.1% of Filipinos can read,
write and compute, or can read, write, compute and comprehend as of year 2003
*Source: National
Statistics Office of the Philippines Website
