Philippine

Education
System

Functions of Educational
Institutions
Provide preparation for occupational roles
Serve as a vehicle for the transmission of
cultural heritage
Strengthen personal adjustment and
improve social relationships
Promote change through involvement in
scientific research

Spanish Period
1st formal program of education:
evangelization (catechism)
Focus: religion
Pioneered by the Franciscans

Usual subjects: Moral theology, grammar,

poetry, rhetoric, languages, philosophy
Issues:
Lack of sufficient funding from the royal
government
Schools of the elite

American Period
Recommendations of the Schurman
Commission (1st Philippine
Commission)
Establishment of adequate system of
secularized and free public schools
Increase the number of primary schools
Setup new secondary schools
Revise course of study

American Period
American-style of national education: transfer
American value of democracy
Free primary education
Medium of instruction: English
American textbooks
Military officers served as teachers and school
administrators
Thomasites (trained teachers from US)
School attendance was not mandatory

American Period

American Period
Filipinization of Education
Filipino teachers received lower wages,
fewer privileges, taught bigger classes,
sent to far-flung areas

Jones Law 1916

Kept education under the hands of the
Americans

American Period
1925 First Nationwide Education
Evaluation Project
FLAWED: neglected nationality

Students spoke English in school only

Used the native language at all other times
English as 2nd language only

Science: Filipinos were tested on

something alien to them

American Period
Development of a national language to
promote national unity
After the passing of the Tydings-McDuffie Law

Problems experienced on its road to

independence
Lack of funds, poor quality, lack of facilities,
lack of clear program of education

Miseducating the Filipinos (Renato

Constantino)
Filipinos were educated to be good colonials???

Philippine Education
TODAY
Is the annual budgetary increase in
education enough to uplift the quality
of education in the country?
How does the Philippines compare
with other ASEAN countries?
K+12: The New Basic Education
Cycle

Quality of Education
Declining quality of education in the
country
evident in the results of the standard
tests and in the entrance examinations
for college students

Poor academic performance in

Science and Math among elementary
and high school students

Quality of Education System, ASEAN-6,

2008-2010

Quality of Math and Science Education,

ASEAN-6, 2008-2010

Pupil-teacher ratio, selected Asian

countries, 1990-2008

Quality of Teachers

Mismatch
Mismatch between training and
actual jobs
Tertiary education of the country
does not meet the competency
demanded by employers
Result: unemployment /
underemployment

Infrastructure
Infrastructure such as school buildings,
adequate classrooms, and facilities are vital
in improving the system of education
Php 5.8 billion in the 2010 national budget
was specifically allotted to finance the
infrastructure of new school buildings
However, it was found out that out of 1,198
buildings inspected from March to April 2010, a
total of 778 (107 of which are in Metro Manila)
public school buildings nationwide have
structural defects

Affordability
More and more Filipino families are facing the
difficulty of sending their children to schools
Result: increasing dropout rates in all levels of
educationprimary, secondary, and tertiary

Increasing number of students enrolling in public

schools and universities and the governments
decreasing budget allocation for state
universities and colleges (SUCs)
(Legarda,January 2008)
the government ought to give sufficient budget to
SUCs to accommodate transferred students

2009 Number of Out-of-School Children

Source: Soriano, C. V. (2010). Financing Education for All in ASEAN

Countries. ASEAN People's Forum 6. Hanoi.

Drop-out rates, elementary & secondary,

1990-2009

Source: Joint Foreign Chambers. (2010, December). Education.

ARANGKADA PHILIPPINES 2010: A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE.

Budget
The 1987 Philippine Constitution
mandates the government to allocate
the highest portion of its budget in
education
Though the country experiences an
annual increase in educations budget,
the Philippines still has one of the
lowest budget allocations to education
among its neighboring countries

DepEds Budget Allocation, 2007-2014 (in

billion pesos)
350
292.7

300
250
200
150 126.8 140.2
100
50
0

207.3
158.2

162

238.8

309.43

Philippine expenditure per

student as % of GDP per
capita, ASEAN-6, 2005-2009

Source: Joint Foreign Chambers. (2010, December). Education.

ARANGKADA PHILIPPINES 2010: A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE .

Republic Act 10533 Enhanced Basic Education Act

of 2013
Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education, i.e.,
6 years of primary education, 4 years of junior high
school, and 2 years of senior high school

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.

DepEd
means to ease the problem of
unemployment in the country
public and private colleges and universities
which intend to offer and/or provide senior
high school must base their programs on the
kind of jobs needed in their respective
areasIf the schools will offer the same
courses, the graduates will compete for the
same job. But if their programs will be
specialized, they can focus on jobs as well as
business opportunities available in their
areas.

CRITICISMS
Additional burden
surplus labor force to feed the global need for cheap
labor
as a means to create

cheaper, more

exploitable laborit will make the more semiskilled workers enter the labor force as early as 18 years
old, which could make unemployment problem worse and
result to lower wages.
government is not prepared for the full
implementation of K-12

Signed on May 15, 2013 in the presence of House Speaker

Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Bro. Armin Luistro, and senators and House
members who authored the legislation
President Aquino: K to 12 Law makes sure that Filipino youth will
have a bright future: Walang duda ang K to 12 Act ay bunga ng
ating patuloy na pagsisikap na itulak ang makabuluhan at
positibong reporma hindi lang sa sistemang pand-edukasyon sa
ating bansa, kundi maging sa lahat ng sector ng ating lipunan.
Sec. Luistro: the K to 12 program will not bring additional costs to
Filipino parents and students since the government will fund
public schools for the two more years in basic education