The Philippine Education through the Years

12. Table of Contents
◦ Pre-Colonial Period
◦ Spanish Period
◦ First Republic
◦ American Period
◦ Third Republic
◦ Fourth Republic
◦ Fifth Republic
◦ 2000s
◦ 2010s and the K-12 program

13. Pre-Colonial Period
◦During the pre-colonial period, education was
decentralized. Children were provided with vocational
training but little in the way of traditional academics.
Philippine schools were headed by parents or by their
tribal tutors. Stories, songs, poetry and dances were
passed from generation to generation through oral
tradition. They employed a unique writing system
known as Baybayin.

14. Spanish Period
◦ When the Spanish first arrived in Manila, they were surprised to find a population with a
literacy rate higher than that of Madrid.
◦ During the early Spanish period, most education was conducted by religious orders. Friars,
recognizing the value of the literate indigenous population, built printing presses to produce
material in baybayin. Missionaries studied the local languages and the baybayin writing system
to better communicate with the local populations and teach Christianity.
◦ The church and the school cooperated to ensure that Christian villages had schools for
students to attend.
◦ Spanish missionaries established schools immediately after reaching the islands. The
Augustinians opened a school in Cebu in 1565. The Franciscans, immediately took to the task
of improving literacy in 1577, aside from the teaching of new industrial and agricultural
techniques. The Jesuits followed in 1581, as well as the Dominicans in 1587, and they started a
school in their first mission at Bataan.
◦ In 1590, the Universidad de San Ignacio was founded in Manila by the Jesuits, and was
incorporated into the University of Santo Tomas, College Medicine and Pharmacy following the
suppression of the Jesuits.

15. ◦ The first book printed in the Philippines dates back to 1590. It was a
Chinese language version of Doctrina Christiana. A Spanish and Tagalog
version, in both Latin script and the locally used baybayin script, was
later printed in 1593.
◦ In 1610, Tomas Pinpin, a Filipino printer, writer and publisher, who is
sometimes referred as the "Patriarch of Filipino Printing", wrote his
famous "Librong Pagaaralan nang manga Tagalog nang Uicang
Castilla", which was meant to help Filipinos learn the Spanish language.
The prologue read:
◦ “Let us therefore study, my countrymen, for although the art of
learning is somewhat difficult, yet if we are persevering, we shall soon
improve our knowledge. Other Tagalogs like us did not take a year to
learn the Spanish language when using my book. This good result has
given me satisfaction and encouraged me to print my work, so that all
may derive some profit from it.’’

16. ◦ In 1640, the Universidad de San Felipe de Austria was established in Manila. It
was the first public university in the Philippines. On April 28, 1611, the
University of Santo Tomas was founded in Manila as the Colegio de Nuestra
Señora del Santisimo Rosario.
◦ By the end of the 16th century, several religious orders had established charity
hospitals all over the archipelago and provided the bulk of public services.
These hospitals also became the setting for rudimentary scientific research
work on pharmacy and medicine.
◦ The Jesuits also founded the Colegio de San Jose in 1601 and took over the
management in what later became Escuela Municipal in 1859. Escuela
Municipal was later renamed to Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1865, and is
known today as Ateneo de Manila University). The Dominicans founded the
Colegio de San Juan de Letran in 1620 in Manila.

17. ◦ The Educational Decree of 1863 created a free public education
system in the Philippines that was run by the government. It was
the first such education system in Asia. The decree mandated the
establishment of at least one primary school for boys and one for
girls in each town under the responsibility of the municipal
government, as well as the establishment of a normal school for
male teachers under the supervision of the Jesuits. Primary
education was free and available to every Filipino, regardless of
race or social class. Contrary to what the propaganda of the
Spanish– American War tried to depict, they were not religious
schools, but schools that were established, supported, and
maintained by the Spanish Government.

18. ◦ In 1866, the total population of the Philippines was 4,411,261. The total
number of public schools for boys was 841, and the number of public schools
for girls was 833. The total number of children attending those schools was
135,098 for boys, and 95,260 for girls. In 1892, the number of schools had
increased to 2,137, of which 1,087 were for boys, and 1,050 for girls. By 1898,
enrollment in schools at all levels exceeded 200,000 students.
◦ Because of the implementation of public education, a new social class of
educated Filipinos arose, the Ilustrados ('enlightened ones'). This new,
welleducated middle class of Filipinos would later lead the Philippine
independence movement, using Spanish as their common language. Among
the Ilustrados who had also studied in Spain were Jose Rizal,Garciano Lopez,
Marcelo H. Del Pilar , Mariano Ponce, and Antonio Luna, who were later to
lead the cause of Filipino selfgovernment and independence.

19. First Republic
◦ The defeat of Spain following the Spanish-American War led to the
short-lived independence movement, which established the insurgent
First Philippine Republic. The schools maintained by Spain for more
than three centuries were closed briefly, but were reopened on August
29, 1898 by the Secretary of Interior. The Burgos Institute (the
country's first law school), the Academia Militar (the country's first
military academy), 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. However, the Philippine–
American War hindered its progress.

20. American Period
◦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 people for the duties of
citizenship and avocation was enforced by the Taft
Commission per instructions of President William
McKinley. Chaplains and non-commissioned officers
were assigned to teach using English as the medium of
instruction.

21. ◦A highly centralized public school system was installed in
1901 by the Philippine Commission and legislated by Act
No. 74. Act No. 74 exposed a severe shortage of qualified
teachers. As a result, the Philippine Commission
authorized the Secretary of Public Instruction to bring
more than 1,000 teachers from the United States, who
were called the Thomasites, to the Philippines between
1901 to 1902. These teachers were scattered throughout
the islands to establish barangay schools. The same law
established the Philippine Normal School (now the
Philippine Normal University) to train aspiring Filipino
teachers.

22. ◦The high school system was supported by provincial
governments and included special educational
institutions, school of arts and trades, an agricultural
school, and commerce and marine institutes, which were
established in 1902 by the Philippine Commission.
◦In 1908, the Philippine Legislature approved Act No.
1870, which created the University of the Philippines. The
Reorganization Act of 1916 provided the Filipinization of
all department secretaries except the Secretary of Public
Instruction.

23. ◦ The emergence of high school education in the Philippines, however, did not
happen until 1910. It was borne out of the rise in big businesses and
technological advances in factories and the emergence of electrification, which
required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools
were created and the curriculum focused on practical job skills that would
better prepare students for professional white collar or skilled blue collar work.
This proved to be beneficial for both the employer and the employee; the
investment in human capital caused employees to become more efficient,
which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher
wage than employees with just primary educational attainment.
◦ Two decades later, enrollment in elementary schools was about one million
(up from about 150,000 in 1901), and about 100,000 in high school (up from
less than 20,000 in 1901).

24. Third Republic
◦In 1947, under 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.

25. Fourth Republic
◦ In 1972, the Department of Education became the Department of Education and Culture under
Proclamation 1081, which was signed by President Ferdinand Marcos.
◦ Following a referendum of all barangays in the Philippines from January 10–15, 1973, President Marcos
ratified the 1973 Constitution by Proclamation 1102 on January 17, 1973. The 1973 Constitution set out the
three fundamental aims of education in the Philippines:
◦ To foster love of country;
◦ Teach the duties of citizenship; and
◦ Develop moral character, self-discipline, and scientific, technological and vocational efficiency.
◦ On September 24, 1972, by Presidential Decree No. 1, the Department of Education, Culture and Sports
was decentralized with decision-making shared among thirteen regional offices.
◦ In 1978, by the Presidential Decree No. 1397, the Department of Education and Culture became the
Ministry of Education and Culture.
◦ The Education Act of 1982 provided for an integrated system of education covering both formal and non-
formal education at all levels. Section 29 of the act sought to upgrade education institutions' standards to
achieve "quality education", through voluntary accreditation for schools, colleges, and universities. Section
16 and Section 17 upgraded the obligations and qualifications required for teachers and administrators.
Section 41 provided for government financial assistance to private schools.[16] This act also created the
Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.

26. 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. It is also seen that under the
1987 Constitution (under Section 2 (2), Article XIV), only elementary school was made compulsory.
◦ In 1987, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports became the Department of Education, Culture and
Sports under Executive Order No. 117. The structure of DECS as embodied in the order remained practically
unchanged until 1994.
◦ On May 26, 1988, the Congress of the Philippines enacted the Republic Act 6655 and the Free Public
Secondary Education Act of 1988, which mandated free public secondary education commencing in the
school year 1988–1989.
◦ On February 3, 1992, the Congress enacted Republic Act 7323, which provided that students aged 15 to 25
may be employed during Christmas and summer vacation with a salary not lower than the minimum wage--
with 60% of the wage paid by the employer and 40% by the government.
◦ The Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM) report of 1991 recommended the division of DECS
into three parts. On May 18, 1994, the Congress passed Republic Act 7722, the Higher Education Act of 1994,
creating the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), which assumed the functions of the Bureau of Higher
Education and supervised tertiary degree programs. On August 25, 1994, the Congress passed Republic Act
7796, the Technical Education and Skills Development Act of 1994, creating the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA), which absorbed the Bureau of Technical-Vocational Education as well as
the National Manpower and Youth Council, and began to supervise non-degree technical-vocational
programs.[22] DECS retained responsibility for all elementary and secondary education.[18] This threefold
division became known as the "trifocal system of education in the Philippines".

27. 2000s
◦ In August 2001, Republic Act 9155, otherwise called the Governance of Basic Education Act,
was passed. This act changed the name of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports
(DECS) to the Department of Education and redefined the role of field offices (regional
offices, division offices, district offices and schools). The act provided the overall framework
for school empowerment by strengthening the leadership roles of headmasters and
fostering transparency and local accountability for school administrations. The goal of basic
education was to provide the school age population and young adults with skills,
knowledge, and values to become caring, self-reliant, productive, and patriotic citizens.
◦ In 2005, the Philippines spent about US$138 per pupil compared to US$3,728 in Japan,
US$1,582 in Singapore and US$852 in Thailand.
◦ In January 2009, the Department of Education signed a memorandum of agreement with
the United States Agency for International Development to seal $86 million assistance to
Philippine education, particularly the access to quality education in the Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), and the Western and Central Mindanao regions

28. 2010s and the K-12 program
◦ The start of the twenty-first century's second decade saw a major improvement in the Philippine
education system.
◦ In 2011, the Department of Education started to implement the new K-12 educational system, which also
included a new curriculum for all schools nationwide. The K-12 program has a so-called "phased
implementation", which started in S.Y 2011-2012.
◦ There are four "phases" during the implementation of the new system. These are:
◦ Phase I: Laying the Foundations. Its goal is to finally implement the universal kindergarten, and the
"development of the (entire) program".
◦ Phase II: Modeling and Migration. Its goal is to promote the enactment of the basic education law, to
finally start of the phased implementation of the new curriculum for Grades 1 to 4 and 7 to 10, and for
the modeling of the senior high school.
◦ Phase III: Complete Migration. Its goal is to finally implement the Grades 11 and 12 or the senior high
school, and to signal the end of migration to the new educational system.
◦ Phase IV: Completion of the Reform. Its goal is to complete the implementation of the K12 education
system.