This document provides a history of the Philippine education system from the pre-colonial period through the 2010s. It describes how education was decentralized prior to colonization, then established by Spanish missionaries and continued under American rule. The system grew to include public elementary and secondary schools, as well as universities. In the 2010s, the Philippines implemented a K-12 program to extend basic education from 10 to 12 years and better prepare students.

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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.

5.  The first book printed in the Philippines dates back to
1590. It was a Chinese language version of Doctorina
Christiana. A Spanish andTagalog 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.’’

6.  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
AteneoMunicipal 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.

7.  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.[9]

8.  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, well-educated
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 self-government
and independence.

9. 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
theMalolos 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.

10. 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.

11.  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.

12.  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.

13.  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).

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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".

17. 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 theWestern and Central Mindanao regions.

18. 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 K-
12 education system.