This document provides an overview of the history and development of the Philippine education system. It traces the system from the pre-colonial period through the Spanish, American, and Japanese periods. It describes the governing bodies that oversee education and the various curricular programs, including early childhood education, basic education, alternative learning systems, and vocational-technical education. The document compares the 2002 Basic Education Curriculum and the K-12 curriculum and discusses efforts to improve student performance in core subjects.

1. The Philippine
Education System
Ryan Michael F. Oducado
PhD in Education (Psychology and Guidance)
ODUCADO © 2015
Then and Now
CDV 610: Comparative Education
Graduate School

2. Objectives
After the discussion, we will be able to:
1. Trace the history of Philippine Education System and
identify, describe, and critique the significant changes
implemented during each period;
2. Differentiate the roles, responsibilities and
accountabilities of each section of education structure;
3. Discuss the different curriculum models in the
Philippines;
4. Compare the 2002 BEC and the K to 12 Curriculum.
Oducado. (c) 2015

3. Pre-Colonial Period
The existence of alibata is one of the evidences of
civilization.
Oducado. (c) 2015

4. Pre-Colonial Period
• Writing implements included barks of trees and
sharpened pieces of iron, palm leaves, and bamboo
nodes.
• Schools existed where children are taught reading,
writing, religion and incantation and self-defense.
• Most schools offered learning the Sanskrit and
arithmetic.
• Instruction was also done at home where parents and
other elders in the household taught children obedience
to elders, and loyalty to tribal laws and traditions.
Oducado. (c) 2015

5. Spanish Period
• The alibata was replaced by Romanized script.
• Castilian language was mandated as the medium of
instruction.
• Education was put under the control of religious orders,
the friars.
“Brutalized the masses” that led to the establishment of Frailocracy
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6. Spanish Period
• Schools opened separately.
• The objectives of opening schools were to popularize
education and to train “religious, obedient, and
instructed teachers”.
• Courses included Christian doctrine, morality, and history,
reading and writing in Spanish, arithmetic, and practical
agriculture, rules of courtesy, and Spanish history.
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7. Spanish Period
• Girls in the elementary level had special courses on
sewing, mending, and cutting and those in high school
had instrumental music (piano), painting, and sketching,
sewing and embroidery, and domestic science.
• UST was the only institution of higher learning offering
courses such as medicine, pharmacy, midwifery and law.
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8. Spanish Period
• Problems that persisted that time
 Lack of equipments
 Students were often absent
 Corporal punishment were also given
• During the brief period after the success of the Philippine
revolutionaries against Spain, the leaders of the Republic
tried to infuse nationalism in the education system.
• The Malolos constitution stipulated Tagalog was the
national language but Spanish still dominated the
curriculum.
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9. American Period
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• Thomasites heralding the institution of English as the
new medium of instruction.
• Public school system was instituted making it
obligatory for all children.
• Education was given for free.
• English and Mathematics dominated the curriculum
and the teaching of religion was prohibited.

10. American Period
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• In high school, Latin and Spanish classics were
replaced by the study of the English language and
Anglo-American Literature.
• Required courses included:
 General science
 Alegbra
 Geometry
 Physics
 US history and government
• The UP curriculum was patterned after some
American universities.

11. Japanese Period
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• Basic policy: Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
• The military administration outlined the basic
principles of education in the Philippines. Some of these
included:
 Cut dependence on Western nations
 Foster a new Filipino culture
 Spread the Japanese language and end use of English
 Focus of basic education and promote vocational education
 Inspire people with love of labor
• Social sciences and literature were de-emphasized
while vocational education and service to the
country were given focus.

12. Japanese Period
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• The use of Tagalog was encouraged, especially in
literature.
• Jose P. Laurel Administration
 Created the National Education Board to look into curriculum
changes and develop a more relevant education program
 Advocated for the use of the national language and the teaching
of Asian history and culture.
 Mandated that only Filipinos should teach Filipino history.

13. Governing Bodies
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• Prior to 1990 when the Congressional Commission
on Education (EDCOM) was organized, the Philippine
education system was highly centralized.
The EDCOM was tasked to investigate the problems of the
Philippine education and implement the provisions of the 1987
constitution.
• All programs, personnel and financing from the
elementary to the tertiary level were under the
supervision of the Department of Education.

14. Governing Bodies
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• In 1972, the department was renamed Department of
Education and Culture through Proc. 1081.
• Education Act of 1982 created Ministry of Education,
Culture and Sports (later renamed Department of
Education, Culture and Sports [DECS]).
• The EDCOM lead to the creation of:

15. At a glance
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16. Curricular Programs
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Early Childhood Education
Formal Basic Education
Vocation-Technical Education
Tertiary or Higher Education
ALS
High school
Elementary
Graduate Programs
College
Basic Literacy Program
A&E Program
IP Education Program
Two General Categories
1. Public
2. Private

17. Early Childhood Care and
Development
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• Republic Act 8980 promulgated a comprehensive
policy and a national system for ECCD Act.
• The ECCD system includes health, nutrition, early
education and social services programs that should
provide for the basic holistic needs of young children
from 0 to 6 years old.
• One of the programs to be institutionalized is the Day
Care Service.

18. Early Childhood Care and
Development
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• Objectives:
 To achieve improved infant and children survival rates
 To enhance the physical, social, cognitive, psychological, spiritual
and language development of young children
 To enhance the role of parents and other caregivers as the
primary caregivers and educators of their children
• The ECCD curriculum has the following basic policies:
 It shall provide the delivery of complementary and integrative
services for health care, nutrition, early childhood education,
sanitation and cultural activities.
 It shall use the child’s first language as the medium of instruction.

19. Early Childhood Care and
Development
Oducado. (c) 2015
• Objectives:
 To achieve improved infant and children survival rates
 To enhance the physical, social, cognitive, psychological, spiritual
and language development of young children
 To enhance the role of parents and other caregivers as the
primary caregivers and educators of their children
• The ECCD curriculum has the following basic policies:
 It shall provide the delivery of complementary and integrative
services for health care, nutrition, early childhood education,
sanitation and cultural activities.
 It shall use the child’s first language as the medium of instruction.

20. Basic Education
Oducado. (c) 2015
• DECS now Department of Education (DepEd)
• EDCOM recommended to “decongest” the DECS.
• The sports functions, programs and activities were transferred to the
Philippines Sports Commission (PSC).
• Functions related to culture were assumed by the National
Commission for Culture and the Arts(NCCA).
• Republic Act 9155 “Governance of the Basic Education Act of 2001”
spells out the framework of basic education and renames the
institution as Department of Education.
States that quality basic education is the right of all citizens and therefore should be
accessible to all “by providing all Filipino children free and compulsory education.
It also underscores the inclusion of ALS for out-of-school youth and adult learners.

21. Basic Education
Oducado. (c) 2015
• Despite the legal provisions, reports on students’
performance on the basic subjects as Math, Science
and English has not been anything but dismal.
• Experts point out that one reason for this problem is the
overload curriculum and the short duration cycle.
• DepEd implemented the Revised Basic Education
Curriculum (RBEC) to decongest the curriculum and
give more time to English, Math and Science.

22. Basic Education
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• DepEd prepared the The Education National
Development Plan for Children (ENDP), 2000-2025
Aims to provide the focus for setting local as well as national
priorities in education.
Considered key goals set forth at the Jontien Conference in 1990
to attain the goal of Education for All (EFA).

23. Alternative Learning
System
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• ALS is the component that bridges the gap between
Formal Basic Education and Vocational-Technical
Education.
• Designed to be a parallel learning system that provides
a viable alternative to the existing nonformal and
informal sources of knowledge and skills.
• Executive Order 356 was released renaming the
Bureau of Nonformal Education to Bureau of Alternative
Learning System

24. Alternative Learning
System
Oducado. (c) 2015
• This system has three (3) major nonformal programs:
1. Basic Literacy Programs: community based program for non-
literates
2. Accreditation and Equivalency Program: certification of
learning for out-of-school youths and adults, 15 years old and
above, who are unable to avail of the formal school system, or
who have dropped out of formal elementary and secondary
education, therefore have not completed ten years of basic
education.
3. Indigenous People (IP) Education Program: a program that
aims to develop an IP culture-sensitive core curriculum, learning
materials and assessment tools and instruments.

25. Vocational-Technical
Education
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• Polytechnic Education System/Voc-Tech education
is under the supervision of TESDA.
• TESDA was created through Republic Act 7796 in
1994.
• Envisioned to offer non-degree programs that will
prepare middle-level personnel and para-
professionals for national industries.

26. Vocational-Technical
Education
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• Two important components of TESDA-recognized
programs are the following:
1. Apprenticeship: training within employment with compulsory
instruction.
2. Dual System Training: delivery system of quality technical and
vocational education which requires training carried out
alternately in two venues.
The school provided theoretical foundation and basic training.
Production plant develops skills and proficiency in actual working conditions.

27. Tertiary and Higher
Education
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• Includes all post secondary courses ranging from one-or
two-year course to the four-year degree and
professional programs, including graduate education
offered by colleges and universities.
• Mission statement:
Higher education shall be geared toward the pursuit of better
quality of life for all Filipinos by emphasizing the acquisition of
knowledge and formation of those skills necessary to make the
individual a productive member of society. It shall accelerate the
development of high level professionals who will search for new
knowledge, provide leadership in various disciplines required by a
dynamic and self-sustaining economy. Higher education shall
likewise be used to harness the productive capacity of the
country’s human resource base towards international
competitiveness.

28. Tertiary and Higher
Education
Oducado. (c) 2015
• Public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are
classified by CHED as follows:
1. State Universities and Colleges (SUCs): chartered public
higher education institutions established by law, administered
and financially subsidized by the government; a few have fiscal
autonomy while other don’t.
2. Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs): established by the
local government through resolutions or ordinance; financially
supported by the LGU concerned.
3. CHED Supervised Higher Education Institutions (CSIs): non-
chartered government post-secondary education institutions
established by law, administered, supervised and financially
supported by the government.

29. Tertiary and Higher
Education
Oducado. (c) 2015
• Private higher education institutions are established
under the Corporation Code and are governed by the
special laws and general provisions of this Code.
1. Non-sectarian institutions are duly incorporated, owned and
operated by private entities that are not affiliated with any
religious organization.
2. Sectarian institutions are usually non-stock, non-profit but duly
incorporated, owned and operated by a religious organization.
• CHED requires offering of subjects that cover the
General Education Program. T
The minimum requirements for the mandatory general education
curriculum (GEC) leading to initial bachelor’s degree covering
four (4) curriculum years shall be sixty-three (63) units.

30. The Philippine Basic
Education Curriculum
 1984 – 2002: National Elementary School Curriculum
 1991 – 2002: New Secondary Education Curriculum
 2002: Revised Basic Education Curriculum
 2010: Secondary Education Curriculum UbD
 2012: present: K to 12 Enhanced Basic Education
Curriculum

31. Oducado. (c) 2015

32. Oducado. (c) 2015
The Imperative for K to 12
• Streamline the curriculum to improve mastery of basic
competencies
• •Ensure seamlessness of primary, secondary, and post-
secondary competencies
• •Improve teaching through the use of enhanced
pedagogies (e.g. spiral progression in Science & Math)
and medium of instruction
• •Expand job opportunities (by reducing jobs-skills
mismatch) and provide better preparation for higher
learning

33. Oducado. (c) 2015
K to 12 and Further Education
THE PHL QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK

34. Oducado. (c) 2015
Phased Introduction of Enhanced
Curriculum in Public Schools

35. Oducado. (c) 2015
The K to 12 Curriculum Model

36. Oducado. (c) 2015
Salient features of the K to 12
• It focuses on the holistic development of the learner.
• It is outcome-based as it prepares learners for: Higher
education
 Middle level skills
 Employment and
 Entrepreneurship
• It is anchored on the principles of:
 Inclusive education
 Learners’ growth and development
 Teaching and learning and
 Assessment

37. Oducado. (c) 2015
Key Features of the K to 12

38. Oducado. (c) 2015
Comparison of 2002 BEC &
K to 12 Education Structure

39. Oducado. (c) 2015
Comparison of the Curriculum of the
Old education and K to 12 Education

40. Oducado. (c) 2015
2002 BEC K-12
Learning
Areas
5 Learning Areas:
MAKABAYAN (AP, TLE, MAPEH,
EsP), Math, Science, English,
Filipino
AP, TLE, MAPEH, EsP, Math,
Science, English, Filipino
Pedagogical
Approaches
Integrative, and interactive
teaching-learning approaches
Reflective, collaborative,
constructivist, inquiry-based
Grading
System
Numerical using the cumulative
method
Levels of Proficiency:
Beginning – 74% & below
Developing -75-79%
Approaching Proficiency- 80-84%
Proficient- 85-89%
Advanced- 90% & above
Promotion
and
Retention
Promotions shall be by subject and
by number of units. A student who
fails in 3 units or less is promoted to
the next curriculum level. On the
other hand, a student who fails in
more than three units is retained in
the year level
Promotion and retention shall be by
subject. Students whose proficiency
level is Beginning(B) at the end of the
quarter or grading period shall be
required to undergo remediation after
class hours so that they can
immediately catch up as they move
to the next grading period. If by the
end of the year, the students are still
at the beginning (B) level, then they
shall be required to take summer
classes.
Over all Goal Empower Filipino learners for
lifelong learning
Functionally-literate and holistically
developed Filipinos

41. Oducado. (c) 2015
2002 BEC and K to 12 Education

42. Oducado. (c) 2015

43. References
Oducado. (c) 2015
De Villa, M. T. (2006). EDUC 101 Philippine education
system. UP Open University
Andaya, J. The k to 12 enhanced education program.
Barnachea, A. A. Philippines public school curriculum.