THE EDUCATION SYSTEM OF THE PHILIPPINES

BEFORE THE AMERICAN PERIOD

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BIOLOGY

SECTION 2B

ATURO, LEAH

BAYNOSA, JOEMARIE

DIALANGAN, MONERHIE

PALMARES, PHILIP RAYJHON LEONARD

SAYOD, ELA MAE

MAY 2020
 INTRODUCTION

Education system in the Philippines has undergone several

developments and has a long complicated history in which through
education serves as a focus of emphasis to teach us and to learn. The
Philippines had a long colonial history, during the 16th to 20th century.
Spain colonized the Philippine for 333 years, after which they gave
control to the United States in 1898. The Americans ruled handed over
control to the Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935. The long
existence of the Philippine Commonwealth was interrupted during
1942-1945, at Japanese occupation during World War II. After the war,
the Commonwealth resulted in 1946 and therefore the Philippines
regained full independence from the Americans. The colonization of
American and Spanish influences affects the educational system in the
Philippines, resulting in a lack of effective economic production
methods.

The early Filipinos put a high emphasis on education. The fathers

taught their sons how to hunt and survive in other ways to be a warrior,
miners, fishermen, hunters, lumbermen, and ship builders. Mothers, on
the other hand, were in charge of their daughters and gave them
instructions on how to do gardening, cooking, serving and other
household chores. The aim of education was to train both boys and
girls to be good future husbands and wives. And also, both men and
women in the Philippines could read and write using the alibata
alphabet. It was made up of 17 symbols, each of which represented a
letter of the alphabet. Three vowels were present among the marks,
while the rest were consonants.
I. Objectives of the Study

This study aims to dig deeper on what has been really the
educational system way back before the American time. It focuses on
the Spanish ruling and the early Filipinos schooling on how they acquire
knowledge even without the existence of the Americans. Teaching
before was just fit by the needs of their times there was a no formal
schooling. Parents before teaches their children informally, mothers are
the one who taught their female children in housekeeping, weaving,
making a basket and other household chores also teaches their
daughters to other agriculture related activities. Fathers are the one
who will then introduces their male children to go for hunt, carpentry,
shipbuilding and mining. Early Filipinos will just vary their learning‟s and
skills on what are the things that are found on their surroundings and
locations, whether they are on the highland, lowlands, or even in the
seashore. Education before was practical, oral, and a surely hands on
one. The Spain within the Philippines during their regime was to form the
native Filipinos become obedient and a God fearing Christians. For this
reason, religion was being made to become a compulsory subject at
all levels starting from the primary schools up to the universities. The first
schools that were made were the parochial schools that were opened
by the missionaries in their parishes. In addition to these said religion,
native children in these schools were taught on how to read, write,
arithmetic and some vocational and practical arts subjects. As time
passes by, colleges for boys, and girls were then opened by the
missionaries. The subject that was being taught to the students includes
the history, Latin, geography, mathematics and philosophy. There was
a no co-education during the Spanish times. Boys and girls were being
put to separate schools to study.
III. Significance of the Study

This study will provide insights on how the Philippines already had
a good education system even before the Americans came here in
the Philippines. This will be beneficial for the students and to those
readers who doesn‟t have ideas with regards to the history of the
Philippine education system. Once this is carefully understood, the
students will not just give credits to the Americans for the education
system here in the Philippines, we also have to give acknowledgement
for the way of education of the early Filipinos and to the Spanish, who
have developed the education in the Philippines, for what they did
opened a lot of opportunities for the Philippines economy and also for
the just the Filipinos individually.

This research seeks to evaluate the Philippine educational

system before the American period. This chapter describe the evolution
of the Philippine educational system in early Filipinos and during the
Spanish colonization.
 BODY

The pre-colonial economic situation was both a major

contributor and a major factor. In the Philippines' educational system, it
is a big factor. In which the forms of society that existed prior to Spanish
colonization ranged from communal to Asiatic feudalism. They had to
provide education that was plain and simple because of their realistic
and consistent mode of production. Our education undergone many
changes as a result of colonization by many foreign countries and
historical events, but we kept some of the ancient teachings that are
still relevant today. Every aspect of the educational system has been
brought into line with the new status of a new nation striving to achieve
and preserve political and economic freedom, as well as to fashion a
nation genuinely unified out of social and cultural diversities, with the
country's celebration of independence in1946, barely seven decades
ago.

I. Early Filipinos

Alibata, the native alphabet, was used as the means of

instruction. The Babaylan and the Katalonan were the educators or
teachers in the pre-colonial period. They were revered by the people
of the society because they were gifted with insight and experience on
spirituality and how to run their own society. As a result, the form of
education imparted was one based on values and traditions. There
was even a scarcity of scientific knowledge, and they lacked effective
economic production methods.
During the Pre-colonial period, the Education system was an oral
tradition that was handed down from generation to generation. Oral
literature carried through the ages show education, including training.
Ballads, poetry, songs, dances, whether or not they are religious,
festive, heroic, folk, seasonal, or about harvest, love, or war, represent
high aspects of a culture. It was supervised by parents and tribal tutors
or those assigned for specific, specialized roles within the communities,
providing oral tradition, instruction, and other vocational education.

Communities were Muslim, almost like those on Mindanao, and

education was proliferated through the religion of Islam. The Imam* or
Ulema† were the declared teachers. The children were taught the way
to read, write and comprehend Arabic by using the Koran as their holy
book. „Informal‟ and „unstructured‟ are utilized in the education system
during the pre-Spanish era. The type of education wasn‟t
institutionalized and separate institutions for education weren‟t direct.
Specialization in education also did not exist.

II. Spanish era

Formal education was delivered to the Philippines by the

Spaniards, which was conducted mostly by religious orders. Learning
writing systems and local languages began during teaching
Christianity, the Spanish language, and Spanish culture, resulting to
Spanish missionaries establishing schools. The Augustinians opened a
church school in Cebu in 1565. In 1577 Franciscans improved literacy,
besides teaching new industrial and agricultural techniques. The Jesuits
followed the same as Dominicans in 1581-1587, school in Bataan.
Therefore the church and the school cooperated to make sure that
Christian villages had schools for the college students to attend.

The Spanish also introduced printing presses for the production of

books in Spanish and Tagalog, with baybayin being used occasionally.
In the Philippines, the first book was printed in 1590. It was a translation
of Doctrina Christiana into Chinese. In1593, Spanish and Tagalog
versions were printed in both Latin and the locally used baybayin script.
 From the beginning, the Spanish presence in the Philippines was
a mission, and education was solely focused on Christian doctrine. The
school‟s aim was to prepare students to be members of a Christian
community, not to help them better their lives in the material world. It
was of minor importance to stimulate and increase the cognitive ability
of the Filipino people. Education, on the other hand, was a potent
weapon for acclimating the younger generation to the new world and
ensuring stability. In conclusion, the Spaniards came to power in the
Philippines, traditional religion was replaced by Christianity, but the
essence of education did not change.

During the pre-Spanish era, the structure was different from that
of the early settlers transformed into a formalized framework. The
Philippines‟ first Christian school was required to be established in 1565,
the Augustinians established a monastery in Cebu. Religious
congregations were responsible for the establishment of schools from
the primary level to the tertiary level. These schools were mostly
focused on Christian doctrines, with separate schools for boys and girls.
But the schools only accepted wealthy Filipinos or Illustrados as
students. For the Filipinos, colonial education had far more negative
consequences. It was only prioritized the rich people when it comes to
education.

According to King Philip II‟s Law of the Indies, the Spanish

authorities in the Philippines were required to educate the natives,
teach them to read and write, and teach them Spanish. However the
last order was quite impossible. First, since the number of Spaniards in
the Archipelago was small, there was little Spanish instruction at the
time. The Philippines was then populated by various tribes speaking
various languages, each with their own customs and religions. The
country‟s topography, which included oceans, mountain ranges, lush
virgin forests, and a lack of good roads, made travel and
communication difficult during these years.
 Faced with these issues, the friars, who were at the forefront of
evangelization and education, devised a solution: they learned the
native languages first, and then used them as tools to evangelize and
educate the natives in missionary schools. However, many who were
interested were also taught Spanish. Tomas Pinpin, a Spaniard,
introduced the country‟s first movable printing press. As the evidence,
The University of Santo Tomas holds the archives of some of the
published books during the Spanish period, such as Spanish-Chinese
dictionaries.

With the passage of the Education Reform Act in the Spanish

Courts in1863, the Philippines‟ public school system was born. Separate
schools for boys and girls were founded in every pueblo as a result of
compulsory education for Filipino children. Following the establishment
of the Escuela Normal, the legislation mandated the training of both
male and female teachers. During these times, the clergy or friars
maintained order in the educational system. They owned a variety of
schools throughout the region, ranging from primary to tertiary
education. Apart from teaching Christianity, the missionaries‟ primary
duty was to enforce the rules and regulations placed on the students.

As the early seventeenth century approached, a system for

secondary and tertiary education had already been developed, but it
was not solely based on Christian doctrines. As priests and monks
collaborated with civil authorities, a network of primary schools was
created, where both religious and secular subjects were taught. Since
the Spanish colonial government implemented a compulsory
elementary education program in1863, all children between the ages
of seven and thirteen have received a free education. With such a
comprehensive educational program, the Philippines were still ahead
of most other Asian colonies in general education.
 Despite the establishment of a formal and institutionalized form
of education, there was still inequity in educational attainment. Filipinos
were raised in a religious and patriarchal educational environment.
People were often told that education would lead to social mobility,
but this resulted in social inequality and female subordination. As it
observed, Men were given a higher priority in terms of educational
attainment than women. Despite the fact that Mestizos and rich
people had access to prestigious colleges, there were women-only
vocational schools.

In the Philippines, the Educational Decree of 1863 established a

government-run, free public education system. The decree required
each town to create at least one primary school for boys and one for
girls under the municipal government‟s supervision, as well as a normal
school for male teachers under the Jesuits‟ supervision. Primary
education has also been proclaimed free and open to all Filipinos,
regardless of ethnicity or social status. They were not religious schools,
contrary to what the propaganda of the Spanish-American War
attempted to portray; rather, they were schools founded, funded, and
maintained by the Spanish government. Cause of compulsory
education of Filipino children, separate boys and girls in every pueblo.
The law also implemented the training of both male and feminine
teachers after the establishment of the Escuela Normal. The clergy or
the friars maintained the order within the tutorial system during these
times. They owned different schools inside the country, ranging from
the primary level to the tertiary levels of education. The only real
responsibility of the missionaries, except for teaching Christianity, was to
require care and maintain the principles and ordinances imposed on
the students. Additionally, teaching and controlling them was also in
their hands.

With relevance education, the students graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts (Bachiller en Artes) degree. The Jesuits established
“Colegio de San Ignacio”, the primary college schools for the boys in
Manila in 1580. Followed by “Colegio de San Idelfonso” in Cebu 1595.
In 1589 when the government entrusted the “Escuela Pia” to the
Jesuits, it later became “Ateneo de Municipal” which is known as
Ateneo de Manila University. “Colegio de San Jose” was also
established within the early 1600s by the friars (de la Costa, Horacio
1967).

After the Jesuits, the Dominicans also claimed their reputation as

they established one in every of the most effective universities within
the Philippines, the University of Santo Tomas which was opened in
1611. Around 1630, another university was built especially for orphaned
boys called the “San Juan de Letran”.

Compared with the boys, it took a bit time to determine schools

and colleges for women. In 1589, “Colegio de Santa Potenciana” was
opened for women; this was the primary school and college for girls.
Following the birth of the first school for females, Colegio de Santa
Isabel opened in 1632. The religious congregations instituted
“beaterio”. The only real purpose of this was to produce education for
orphaned girls who couldn't afford to teach themselves. The teachings
taught were basically about tasks like cooking, embroidery-making,
sewing et al. skills necessary permanently housekeeping. While many
universities and schools institutions were established, Science and
arithmetic weren't much taught to the students; the missionaries greatly
emphasized teaching the Christine doctrines, the reading of Spanish
books and a small amount of the relevant language.
 ANALYSIS

Even though the early Filipinos doesn‟t have a systematic way of

educating the young Filipinos, they found a way to create a method
of communication through writing, and I think that it is important
because knowing that even before the Spaniards and Americans
came, we already have a system of writing. The medium used in the
education system during pre-colonial and during Spanish regime,
Filipino have conflict in language used in which the early time Alibata
was used for medium communication later on the Spanish friars try to
change and use Spanish language as a medium of communication
and also the writing system which is AILBORADA, lead confusion to the
Filipinos also the Effects of Colonial Education in the Philippines. The
Babaylan and Katalonan also played a big part in our education
system during the pre-colonial period, since they were the people‟s
educators that time. Through their teachings, their emerged values and
traditions that some of us may still practice up to this day. Even though
those weren‟t scientific and advance as other countries, the teachings
still played a big role in creating an identity for ourselves.

Since the Filipinos during the pre-colonial era wasn‟t that

advance, the means of passing down information was orally
performed and this may bring a little downside since it is orally handed
down from generation to generation, the accuracy of the information
may not be fully reliable, since some of the information may change
from time to time. On the positive note, the passing down of the
traditons, values, and other literatures such as ballads, poetry, songs
dances, and etc. was guided by either their parents, tribal tutors, or
even those who are assigned for specific roles so that the information
being relayed is true and wasn‟t altered.

To those who belong in a specific religious group also taught

their group specific things that is about their religion like the Muslims,
teach them how read, write and comprehend Arabic in Koran as a
holy script book. To sum up all of these during the early Filipino era, the
education system doesn‟t have a flow to follow, no formal activities
were done and just purely teaching everything based on what they
learned and not because they studied and such.

Way back before at the time of the early Filipinos there was
already an education, it was being introduced by the Spaniards which
was made mostly by a religious order. While the Spaniards teaches the
Filipinos about their language and culture, they also taught them
about Christianity. As early as 16th century they were able to open the
first school and university about regarding with the religious orders. As
time where Spanish missionaries reach the island, they build
immediately a so called school. On the year 1565 there was already a
school that was being made by the Augustinians in Cebu. The
Franciscan was then able to do their move for the improvement of the
literacy on the year 1577.

Aside from this, on the year 1581 the Jesuits follow as well as the
Dominicans in 1587 for setting up a school in Bataan. They made sure
that school as well as churches will cooperate to create a better
harmony while learning. The Spaniards then introduces a printing press
to reproduce books for them to use in the language of Spanish, and
Tagalog which is the baybayin. On the year 1590 the first book was
being printed it was a Chinese translation of Doctrina Christiana in
1593.

The Spaniards came here to the Philippines with power and

taught us the essence of Christianity without changing the type of
education that we have. In connection with the Spanish regime there
were social injustices that happened that educated people were
privileged only to Spanish students except to those Illustrados middle
class Filipinos who can afford study abroad. Some of them even
ventured to Europe to complete their studies aim to get independence
of education system and the freedom wants to achieved in the access
of education. The education of the illustrados indirectly fuelled the
nationalist spirit of the locals toward a reform movement, and
consequently a revolution against Spain

Filipino responses: the education system in the Philippines wants

to establish an independent educational system. This illustrados later on
opens the mind of the Filipino people in the Philippines , in which the
Filipinos people are awaken , they are see the social injustices and
they also fight the freedom they want to achieve , in which they want
also the access of education , teachings was subjected only in which
the education is focuses in Christian doctrines. One major failure of the
educational system of the religious congregations was the withholding
of the Filipinos; supposed Philippine education was only a means to
remain colonizers. Meanwhile, several educated Filipinos referred to as
illustrados may consider one of the major effects aiming to have
revolution movement, in which the movement aims to eradicate the
social injustices happen that education was religion-centred,
education for the elite only, Spanish is compulsory, boys and girls school
are separated, inadequate, suppressed and controlled.

At the very start the presence of Spaniards here in the Philippines

was a mission and to educate about the Christian doctrine. Their goal
was to make the students become a part of the Christian community.
It‟s their kind of way to help stimulate and increase the cognitive ability
of the Filipino people. On the contrary, education was the very
important weapon to make the future generation be aware of the new
world and embrace it with the ensuring stability.

Even before the Americans the Philippines already had a good

educational system, contrary to what others say that we owe our
system to the Americans, I believe that we are not giving enough
credits to our ancestors and also we owe our Christianity to the
Spaniards because they introduced it to us. Therefore we can
conclude that the Philippines were more advanced in terms of
education during the 19th century compared to other Southeast Asian
country with regards also to the educational facilities during that
period.
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