The Philippines education and training system is quite unique in that not only does it aim to reduce poverty and provide skills for its nationals to participate in and develop their economy, but also to enable those skilled citizens to be competitive and obtain employment globally. The Philippines has a population of around 98 million people which is projected to reach 128 million by 2030; around 50 per cent of the population live in the national capital region around Manila. The average age of the population is becoming older and the number of young people aged 0-14 years is expect to decrease from 34 per cent of the population to 27 per cent by 2030. The Philippines is the third largest English speaking country in the world. The education system is based on that of the United States. Education and training institutions can be for-profit but foreign ownership, establishment and administration of education and training institutions is limited to 40 per cent by virtue of the Philippines Constitution.

1. Philippines Education and Training
By
Tony Mitchener
Introduction
The Philippines education and training system is quite unique in that not only does it aim to reduce poverty
and provide skills for its nationals to participate in and develop their economy, but also to enable those
skilled citizens to be competitive and obtain employment globally.
The Philippines has a population of around 98 million people which is projected to reach 128 million by
2030; around 50 per cent of the population live in the national capital region around Manila. The average
age of the population is becoming older and the number of young people aged 0-14 years is expect to
decrease from 34 per cent of the population to 27 per cent by 2030.
The Philippines is the third largest English speaking country in the world.
The education system is based on that of the United States.
Education and training institutions can be for-profit but foreign ownership, establishment and
administration of education and training institutions is limited to 40 per cent by virtue of the Philippines
Constitution.
Schools
There are 23 million students in the early year, elementary and high schools in the Philippines studying at
around 59,000 schools (of which 22.6 per cent are private). Students predominantly study in public
schools for their school education: 26 per cent of students of the kindergarten students studying in private
facilities, 8 per cent of elementary students study in private elementary schools and 20 per cent of high
school students study in private high schools. The cost of tuition and to an extent, parental preference for
public schools, has dampened interest in the private provision of schooling, despite the limited number of
public schools, poor student-teacher ratios, inadequate facilities and low levels of government funding.
Historically, the public school system does not adequately prepare students in maths, science (the
Philippines last participated in the TIMSS international benchmarking in 2003 and achieved very poor
results) and does not prepare students for work. Only 50 per cent of students that commence their
elementary education will finish high school. Of those that graduate from high school, only 10 per cent go
on to study technical and vocational education and 23 per cent into higher education.
Part of the reason for the poor quality of school graduates is a crowded curriculum and a 10, rather than
12, year school system. The Government has progressively introduced a new high school curriculum since
2012 and this is expected to have its first senior high school graduates by end 2018. This will then bring the
Philippines school system into line with international practice. In August 2016, around 1.5 million students
in the Philippines were among the first to attend 11th
grade. Senior schools students have the choice
between four streams: academic, technical vocation, sports and arts. It is expect that these various
improvements will create a demand for an additional 82,000 teachers.
As well, student teacher ratios in public junior high schools have improved significantly from 38:1 to 29:1
with a student to classroom ratio improving from 64:1 to 47:1. Despite significant improvement in
government funding to 3.5 per cent of GDP, the Philippines spends less on education than most other
ASEAN and middle income countries which spend around 5 per cent.

2. Concurrently, the Government also rebased the elementary school curriculum with consequential further
amendment of middle school and high school curriculum and it is expected that the first senior high school
graduates completing the enhanced new curriculum will graduate by end 2023.
Private schools are required to be approved by the regional departments of education and meet the same
accreditation and quality assurance requirements as public schools. Many schools, including private
schools, however, also pursue private accreditation from one of five accreditation bodies as it requires
significantly higher standards and quality. Private schools must follow the national curriculum, but is able
to augment the syllabus and provide supplementary classes.
There are international schools in Manila, Cebu and Davao. These international schools are able to recruit
children of Philippines nationals as well as those of expatriates.
Vocational Training
There are around 4,500 TVET institutions, of which just over 90 per cent are small private providers with
1.6 million students.
The TVET sector is regulated by the Technical Education and Skill Development Authority (TESDA), which
supervises apprenticeship training, ‘dual training’, online technical training and courses for those seeking to
work overseas. TESDA operates through a network of 126 training centres and also operates around 35
language training centres for workers deploying overseas to work. TVET training is in accordance with the
Philippines Qualifications Framework (similar to the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework) which
attempts to minimise the potential for job-skills mismatch.
It is expected that the demand for technical-vocational training will continue to expand as a result of the
introduction of 12 years of schooling which will introduce vocational training for senior high school as an
alternative to the academic stream.
The potential for international TVET providers in the Philippines is significant. One Australian training
company Site Skills Training has a large training facility at the former Clark US Airforce Base and provides
skills training for the oil, mining and gas industries, construction and hospitality sectors.
Higher Education
The Philippines is unique in that it is one of a small number of countries where the number of public
universities and colleges and their students is smaller than the private higher education sector. In 2015
there were 228 state universities and colleges (with around 1.88 m students), while there were 1,706
private universities and colleges (with around 2.22 m students) and were either not-for-profit religious or
community based institutions or for-profit secular universities and colleges.
Access to higher education has been an issue for many Philippines nationals due to lack of campuses in
some regions and tuition costs, including at public universities. Most universities and colleges are
concentrated on Luzon (which includes Manila and the national capital region). To assist with providing
easier access to higher education, early in 2017 the Government abolished tuition fees at all public
universities and colleges. The Government is prepared to provide incentives (including for foreign
providers) that establish institutions in areas that are not well served by the existing public and private
institutions.
In 2010, the Philippines Government acknowledged that there were too many higher education institutions
(particularly on Luzon: Manila is allegedly home to over 220 public and private higher education
institutions) and programs, job-skills mismatch, oversubscribed and undersubscribed programs,
deteriorating quality, and limited access to quality higher education. The Commission on Higher Education
(CHED) which governs and regulates institutions of higher learning, since 2011 has put in place a
moratorium on the establishment of new public institutions in disciplines that are oversubscribed and not

3. deemed relevant to a modern economy. CHED has also led the amalgamation of a number of public
universities and colleges.
The most recent strategic plan of CHED focussed on developing master plans for key higher education
disciplines of teacher education, nursing, agriculture, sustainable development and maritime education.
Higher education in the Philippines, compared to many other Asian economies, however, can be of high
quality and affordable which is why it has been successful in attracting students from Korea and other
ASEAN countries. The Philippines has been renowned for its world class graduates in medicine,
engineering, dentistry, accounting, architecture, nursing, seafaring and teaching. Much of the
attractiveness of education in the Philippines is due to the affordability of university and college education.
There have been criticism of the quality of parts of the higher education system with regards to the quality
of instruction (including very low ‘pass’ marks for courses), the lack of university-industry linkages, the
need to update curriculum to world standards and the need to update equipment and teaching
methodologies.
Since 2010, CHED has lead the revamping of curricula in IT, accounting, maritime and English language and
required the inclusion of industry experts to ensure curricula was more responsive to industry needs. As
well, CHED put in place a moratorium on the opening of new programs in oversubscribed disciplines in
public institutions including in business administration, nursing, teacher education, hotel and restaurant
management and IT. The aim is to focus on enhancing the quality of existing programs.
In 2014 the Philippines Government announced plans to build eight globally competitive international
universities within three years, but it appears those plans have yet to be implemented.
In 2014, the Philippines Government also introduced new arrangements which permitted vocational
college graduates to transfer their vocational study programs to become credits towards undergraduate
degrees.
In the annual QS ranking of Asian universities only the University of the Philippines (70th
) and Ateneo de
Manila University (99th
) made it into the top 100.
International Education
A large number of young people in the Philippines are interested in studying overseas. Whilst, the US was
once the preferred study destination, this has declined since 2009. Larger numbers of students are now
studying in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK. Students have found it easier to study in these
countries as the visa approval process is not as difficult as the United States and due to the opportunity to
work during and after their studies. Students also study in Japan (technology courses) and Saudi Arabia
(Islamic studies).
The main disciplines of study for students studying overseas include the hard sciences, business, theatre
and film, IT and engineering.
Philippines Students Studying Overseas
Country 2016 Comment
Australia 11,056
Canada 2,720 2014 data
Japan 700 Estimate based on 2013 data
New Zealand 1,995 2014 data
Saudi Arabia 570 Estimate based on 2013 data
UK 800 Estimate based on 2013 data
US 2,886

4. Source: Australia Education International, British Council, Canada Bureau of International Education, New
Zealand Education and US Institute of International Education.
It is estimated that there were around 50,000 students and permits issued for international students to
study in the Philippines in 2016 (there were 47,478 student visas and permits issued in 2012). Around 65
per cent of international students in the Philippines are studying English language or are in primary and
secondary schools and 35 per cent are studying at universities or colleges.
Global Mobility
Despite any criticisms of the education system, it is sufficiently robust to produce skilled graduates from its
technical colleges and universities that are able to compete globally and obtain skilled work. A large
proportion of the Philippines workforce is globally mobile and are currently, have previously, or propose to
work overseas: despite around 39 per cent of the workforce not having completed basic education.
There are currently around 2.4 million skilled workers and professionals from the Philippines working
overseas, mostly in Saudi Arabia (23.8 per cent), United Arab Emirates (15.9 per cent), Europe (6.6 per
cent), Kuwait (6.4 per cent), Qatar (6.2 per cent), Hong Kong (5.6 per cent), Singapore (5.6 per cent), North
and South America (5.6 per cent), Taiwan (5.2 per cent), Bahrain/Israel/Lebanon/ Jordan (4.6 per cent),
China/South Korea (3.6 per cent), Japan (3.5 per cent), Brunei/Cambodia/ Indonesia (2.5 per cent),
Malaysia (2.1 per cent) and Australia (1.4 per cent).
Over 10.5 per cent of these Overseas Foreign Workers are managers and professionals, almost 7 per cent
are technicians or associate professionals, almost 5 per cent are clerical staff, almost 19 per cent are sales
staff, almost 12 per cent work in trades occupations, almost 13 per cent work as plant and machine
operators and assemblers and 34 per cent work in elementary or semi-skilled occupations.
Remittances from these overseas foreign workers are worth US$25 billion per annum to the Philippines
economy helping to drive consumption and economic growth. The economy has been growing at around 6
per cent for the past seven years.
Summary
The Philippines provides opportunities to education investors seeking a market that is receptive to private
international schools, vocational colleges and higher education providers, though constitutionally this is
limited to a 40 per cent stake. The Philippines Board of Investment is prepared to consider various
incentives for the establishment of education and training institutions in areas that are poorly served by
existing education infrastructure.
This article first appeared in 2017 in EducationInvestor Global, a UK based online magazine which provides
market-leading intelligence resource for investors, operators, lenders and advisors focused on the global
business of education and training. If you are interested you can subscribe here:
https://educationinvestor.co.uk/
If your business or investment fund is interested in education market analysis, Tony Mitchener can be
contacted on tony@mitchener.com.au