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state of Arizona in
land mass, it is the world’s second-largest archipelago after Indonesia, consisting of more
than 7,000 islands. It is also the world’s 12th most-populous country with just over 103
million people as of 2016.
Both the country’s religious makeup and its anglophony are the result of colonialism. The
Philippines was a Spanish colony for more than three centuries, a fact that shaped
religious belief systems, before the U.S. occupied it in 1898 and ruled the country for
nearly five decades, until independence in 1946. U.S. colonialism had a formative
impact on the development of the modern Philippine education system and various
other aspects of Philippine society. With the imposition of English in sectors like
education, news media, and trade, the Spanish language became marginalized and faded.
In 1987, Spanish was dropped as an official language and is today only spoken by a small
minority of Filipinos.
At the secondary level, problems were omnipresent as well: the net enrollment rate in
secondary education, for example, had by 2005 dropped down to 58.5 percent, after
increasing from 55.4 percent to around 66 percent between 1991 and 2000. Tellingly
perhaps, the country’s youth literacy rate, while still being high by regional standards, fell
from 96.6 percent in 1990 to 95.1 percent in 2003, making the Philippines the only
country in South-East Asia with declining youth literacy rates.
POLICY RESPONSE
To address these shortcomings, the Philippine government initiated structural
changes in the basic education system and significantly boosted education
expenditures. Crucially, the “Kindergarten Education Act”, passed in 2011, enacted a
mandatory pre-elementary year of Kindergarten education, while the “2013 Basic
Education Act”, extended the elementary and secondary education cycle from 10 to 12
years. The importance of this new 12-year education cycle (K-12), which adds two years
of mandatory senior secondary schooling for every Filipino student, cannot be
understated. Until the reforms, the Philippines was one of only three countries in the
world (the other two being Angola and Djibouti), with a 10-year basic education cycle.
As such, the K-12 reforms are an essential step to improve the global competitiveness of
the Philippines and bring the country up to international standards. Implementation of the
new system is progressing on schedule and the first student cohort will graduate from the
new 12-year system in 2018.
In addition, education spending was increased greatly: between 2005, when it hit its
nadir, and 2014, government spending on basic education, for instance, more than
doubled. Spending per student in the basic education system reached PHP 12,800 (USD
$246) in 2013, a drastic increase over 2005 levels. And education expenditures have
grown even further since: In 2017, for instance, allocations for the Department of
Education were increased by fully 25 percent, making education the largest item on the
national budget. In 2018, allocations for education increased by another 1.7 percent and
currently stand at PHP 533.31 billion (USD $ 10.26 billion), or 24 percent of all
government expenditures (the second largest item on the national budget). The higher
education budget, likewise, was increased by almost 45 percent between 2016 and 2017.
It should be noted, however, that some of the spending increases are simply designed to
cover additional costs stemming from the K-12 reforms. To accommodate the reforms,
86,478 classrooms were constructed, and over 128,000 new teachers hired in the
Philippines between 2010 and 2015 alone.
The biggest advances, however, were made in pre-school education. After the
introduction of one year of mandatory Kindergarten education in 2011, the net enrollment
rate in Kindergarten jumped from 55 percent (2010) to 74.6 percent in 2015. Also
encouraging was the fact that poorer families benefited strongly from the reforms. The
World Bank noted that in “2008, the gross enrollment rate in kindergarten for the poorest
20 percent of the population was 33 percent, but this had increased to 63 percent by 2013.
Levels of kindergarten enrollment in the Philippines now compare favorably with rates in
other middle-income countries both within the region and globally”.
That said, the Philippines keeps trailing other South East Asian countries in a
variety of education indicators and the government has so far fallen short on a number
of its own reform goals. Strong disparities continue to exist between regions and
socioeconomic classes – while 81 percent of eligible children from the wealthiest 20
percent of households attended high school in 2013, only 53 percent of children from the
poorest 20 percent of households did the same. Progress on some indicators is sluggish, if
not regressing: completion rates at the secondary level, for example, declined from 75
percent in 2010 to 74 percent in 2015, after improving in the years between.
Importantly, the Philippines government continues to spend less per student as a share of
per capita GDP than several other Southeast Asian countries, the latest budget increases
notwithstanding. It also remains to be seen how the K-12 reforms will affect indicators
like teacher-to-student ratios. In October 2015, it was estimated, that the government still
needed to hire 43,000 teachers and build 30,000 classrooms in order to implement the
changes. Strong population growth will also continue to put pressures on the education
system. The Philippines has one of the highest birth rates in Asia, and the government
expects the population to grow to 142 million people by 2045.
At the same time, the K-12 reforms will inevitably lead to decreased higher education
enrollments, at least in the short-term, since many of the students that would usually have
entered higher education after grade 10 now have to complete two additional years of
school. Between 2015/16 and 2016/17, the total number of tertiary students already
dropped from 4.1 million to 3.6 million – a decrease that is particularly apparent when
looking at undergraduate enrollments. Data from the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED) shows that undergraduate enrollments dropped by 12.7 percent between the
2015/16 and 2016/17 academic years, and is expected to drop by a further 22 percent in
2017/18, before starting to recover in 2018/19, when the first K-12 cohorts start to enter
higher education.
This downturn will affect HEIs and lead to declining revenues during the transition
period – a fact that will primarily hurt private HEIs, since nearly all of their funding
comes from tuition fees. As a result, CHED anticipates that approximately 25,000 staff,
including faculty and administrators, will lose their jobs. Changes will also be made to
the undergraduate curriculum. Since the previous curriculum compensated for the fact
that students entered with only ten years of secondary education, the revised curriculum
will have greatly reduced general education requirements.
In an attempt to boost the country’s research output, the government in 2017 also
institutionalized the so-called “Balik (Returning) Scientist Program,” an initiative that
was first created in the 1970s to incentivize highly skilled Filipino researchers working
abroad to return to the Philippines. Benefits provided through the program include
research grants, free health insurance, and relocation allowances. As international
education consultant Roger Chao Jr has pointed out, it remains to be seen, however, how
effective the program will be, given that the offered incentives and research funding may
not be competitive enough to lure established scientists back to the Philippines.
Like most Asian countries, the Philippines also seeks to internationalize its education
system and promotes transnational education (TNE) partnerships with foreign HEIs. To
formalize this process and assure the quality of the programs offered, CHED in 2016
established concrete guidelines for transnational programs. Importantly, programs can
only be offered in collaboration with a Philippine partner institution. Both the foreign
provider and the Philippine partner institution must also be officially recognized and seek
authorization from CHED, which is initially granted for a one-year period for graduate
programs, and for two years in the case of undergraduate programs.
CHED has entered agreements with a number of countries, predominantly in Europe, but
its most significant relationship is with the United Kingdom. The British Council, the
U.K.’s designated organization to promote international exchange, considers the
Philippines an ideal location for a TNE hub, due to its expanding population of
university-age students, CHED’s commitment to internationalization, and the use of
English as a language of instruction in a majority of higher education programs. In 2016,
CHED and the British Council entered an agreement designed to “support twinning, joint
degree programmes, dual degrees and franchise models in priority fields of study between
institutions in the Philippines and the UK.” In 2017, this was followed by ten Philippine
universities, including the country’s top institutions, being designated to receive seed
funding to establish TNE programs with British partner universities. The initiative is
funded with UK £ 1million (USD $1.4 million) from CHED and UK £ 500,000 (USD
$698,000) from the British Council. Programs are slated to commence in the 2018/19
academic year.
OUTBOUND MOBILITY
The thriving TNE partnership between the UK and the Philippines will offer Filipino
students access to UK education programs and reflects that there is a growing demand for
international education in the country. Over the past 15+ years, the number of Filipino
students enrolled in degree programs abroad alone almost tripled from 5,087 students in
1999 to 14,696 students in 2016 (UNESCO Institute of Statistics – UIS). Given the
population size of the Philippines, however, this is not an overly high number when
compared, for example, to Vietnam’s 63,703 outbound degree students in 2016. The
outbound mobility rate (number of outbound students among all students) in the
Philippines is low and remains significantly below the outbound mobility rate of
neighboring countries like Malaysia, Vietnam or Indonesia.
That said, the number of outbound degree students has increased consistently over the
years and there is good reason to believe that international student flows from the
Philippines will expand in the future. Population growth and the prospect of increasing
economic prosperity imply that the total number of tertiary students in the country is set
to increase rapidly – the Philippines is expected to be among the world’s top 20 countries
in terms of tertiary enrollments by 2035. Filipino students are also well-suited for
international mobility, due to their English language abilities. What is more, the K-12
reforms will remove barriers to academic mobility: In an international environment
accustomed to 12-year secondary school qualifications, the anachronistic 10-year school
system hampered the mobility of Filipino students, both in terms of formal academic
qualifications and academic preparedness. Many foreign institutions, for instance,
considered the Philippine Bachelor’s degree only equivalent to two years of
undergraduate study – a fact that complicated graduate admissions. As we pointed out in
an earlier article on the subject, the K-12 reforms are therefore likely to increase
outbound mobility.
Future mobility from and to the Philippines may also be facilitated by further economic
and political integration in the ASEAN community. The long-term potential for intra-
regional student mobility in this dynamic region of 600 million people is tremendous,
especially since the ASEAN member states are trying to harmonize education systems
and ease international mobility.
DESTINATION COUNTRIES
According to the latest available UIS data, Australia is presently the most popular
destination country of Filipino students enrolled in degree programs abroad, hosting
4,432 Filipino students (2015). The U.S. was the second most popular destination with
just over 3,000 degree students. New Zealand, the U.K. and Saudi Arabia rounded out the
top five with 1,105, 698 and 693 Filipino students, respectively. Italy hosted 561 Filipino
students and Japan hosted 488. The remaining three countries of the top ten, the United
Arab Emirates, Korea and Canada, all had Filipino students numbering in the mid to low
400s.
Four of the top five destinations are English-speaking countries, demonstrating the
interest of Filipino students in English-language destinations, with the popularity of
Australia and New Zealand likely owed to their geographic proximity. There have been
some shifts in destinations, however. While Australia has now overtaken the U.S., which
used to be top destination until recently, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have
emerged as new study destinations among the top ten. The latter trend coincides with
strong increases in labor migration to these two countries, both of which have been the
main destinations of Filipino overseas workers for years. There are also a relatively large
number of international Philippine schools in Saudi Arabia, catering to the children of
these migrant workers. It is well possible that some of these children continue their post-
secondary education in Saudi Arabia.
When comparing international student statistics, it is important to note that these statistics
can show substantially deviating numbers, due to factors like different methods of data
capture or different definitions of ‘international student’ (degree students versus students
enrolled in language programs) etc. The Canadian government, for instance, reports
vastly different international student numbers than the UIS. According to these statistics,
the number of Filipino international students in Canada has increased by 275 percent
between 2006 and 2015, from 817 students to 3,065 students, making the Philippines the
20th largest source country of international students in Canada in 2015. The Canadian
government seeks to further boost the inflow of Filipino students, and in 2017 launched a
so-called “Study Direct Stream Program” in partnership with CHED. The program will
streamline and shorten visa processing times, and ease the financial documentation
requirements for Filipino students.
In the U.S., by contrast, the Philippines is presently neither a major sending country nor a
dynamic growth market. Enrollments of Filipino students have remained largely stagnant
and slightly decreased over the past 15+ years. According to the Institute of International
Education’s (IIE) Open Doors data, there were 3,130 Filipino students in the U.S. in
2000/01, 3,758 students in 2005/06 and 3,006 students in 2016/17. The current number
reflects an increase of 4.6 percent over 2015/16, but given the fluctuations in previous
years, it remains to be seen if this can be taken as a sign of a lasting upswing. As of now,
the long-standing popularity of the U.S. as an immigration destination for Filipinos is not
matched by corresponding international student flows. The Filipino students that are in
the U.S. are predominantly enrolled at the undergraduate level (54 percent), while 30
percent studied in graduate programs and 16 percent were registered in non-degree
programs and OPT.
According to the UIS, the number of inbound degree-seeking students in the Philippines
has fluctuated strongly over the years and ranged from 3,514 students in 1999 to 5,136
students in 2006 and 2,665 students in 2008, the last year for which the UIS provides
data. More recent data from CHED and the IIE’s Project Atlas (which is based on CHED
data) reports higher, if equally fluctuating, numbers. Accordingly, there were 7,766
foreign students in the country in 2011/12, followed by 6,432 students in 2014/15, and
8,208 students in 2015/16.
While there is no current data on countries of origin, most of these students come from
other Asian countries. According to the Philippine Bureau of Immigration, the top two
sending countries between 2004 and 2009 were South Korea and China – with strong
growth rates in both cases. Also notable are a growing number of Indian students and a
tremendous increase in Iranian student enrollments during that time period. In 2011/12,
Koreans accounted for 21.5 percent of international enrollments, followed by Iran and
China, with slightly above 13 percent of students each.
In a 2013 study on student mobility in Asia, UNESCO noted that the Philippines benefits
from “the use of English as the medium of instruction…; a wide variety of academic
programmes; the relatively low cost of living and affordable tuition and other school
fees”. But what the strong presence of Korean students, in particular, suggests is that the
country’s popularity as an English language training (ELT) destination is one of the
strongest drivers of inbound mobility. For Koreans and other Asian students, the
Philippines is a popular ELT “budget destination” that offers much lower tuition fees than
the UK, Australia, Canada or the U.S., is easily reachable via short direct flights, and
affords students the opportunity to combine ELT with beachside vacations.
As a result, ELT enrollments in the country are surging. The Philippines’ Ambassador to
the U.S. affirmed in 2015, that “there are more and more Koreans that are studying
English in the Philippines… In 2004, there were about 5,700… The following year, it
tripled to about 17,000, in 2012 it was about 24,000. So we’re seeing an increasing
number of Koreans. But they’re also from other countries: Libya, Brazil, Russia.” ICEF
Monitorrecently noted that this boom has caused more and more ELT providers to set up
shop in the Philippines, and led the Filipino government to aggressively market the
country as an ELT destination.
The Department of Education also has a number of agencies supervising programs that
fall outside the country’s formal education system. The Bureau of Alternative Learning
System (BALS), for instance, oversees education programs designed for “out-of-school
children, youth and adults who need basic and functional literacy skills, knowledge and
values.” Two of its major programs are the Basic Literacy Program (BLP), which aims to
eliminate illiteracy among out-of-school children and adults, as well as the “Continuing
Education: Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Program”, which helps school dropouts
to complete basic education outside the formal education system.
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
Elementary education in the Philippines consists of six years of schooling, covering
grades 1 to 6 (ages 6 to 12). Before the adoption of the K-12 reforms, elementary
education was the only compulsory part of the basic education cycle. With the reforms,
however, compulsory education has been extended and is now mandatory for all years of
schooling, inclusive of grade 12.
The elementary school curriculum was recently revised and includes standard subjects
like Filipino, English, mathematics, science, social science, Philippine history and
culture, physical education and arts. One notable and important change, however, is that
minority languages (“mother tongues”) are now being used as the language of instruction
in the first years of elementary education in areas where these languages are the lingua
franca. There are currently 19 recognized minority languages in use. English and Filipino
are introduced as languages of instruction from grades 4 to 6, in preparation for their
exclusive use in junior and senior secondary high school.
SECONDARY EDUCATION
Pre-reform: Prior to the 2016/17 school year, when the first cohort entered grade 11 of
the new senior secondary cycle, basic education ended after four years of secondary
education (grades 7 to 10). Although freely available in public schools to all interested
students, these four final years of basic education were not compulsory. Graduating
students were awarded a Certificate of Graduation at the end of grade 10, and would
progress either to higher education, TVET, or employment.
Post-reform: With the enactment of the K-12 reforms, secondary education was extended
from four to six years and divided into two levels: four years of Junior High School (JHS)
and two years of Senior High School (SHS), giving the basic education cycle a structure
of K+6+4+2. All six years of secondary education are compulsory and free of charge at
public schools. Since the construction of public senior high schools and classrooms still
lags behind the need created by the K-12 reforms, however, a new voucher system was
put in place to subsidize SHS study at private schools. That said, the voucher amount is
capped and does not fully cover tuition at most private schools, keeping this option out of
reach for socially highly disadvantaged families.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
The size of the private sector in the Philippine school system is considerable. The
government already decades before the K-12 reforms started to promote public-private
partnerships in education. In these partnerships, the government sponsors study at low-
cost private schools with tuition waivers and subsidies for teacher salaries in an attempt
to “decongest” the overburdened public system. The Philippine “Educational Service
Contracting” program (ESC) is, in fact, one of the largest such systems in the world. It
provides the state with a way to provide education at a lower cost than in public schools,
with parents picking up the rest of the tab – a fact that has caused critics to charge that the
government is neglecting its obligation to provide free universal basic education.
Private high schools in the Philippines teach the national curriculum, must be officially
approved and abide by regulations set forth by the Department of Education. In 2014, 18
percent of secondary students, or 1.3 million students, were enrolled in private schools.
Fully 5,130 out of 12,878 secondary schools in the Philippines in 2012/13 (about 40
percent) were privately owned. The number of ESC tuition grantees increased by 40
percentbetween 1996 and 2012 and accounted for almost 60 percent of all private high
school students in 2014, reflecting that publicly subsidized private education is a growing
trend with increasing numbers of low-cost private schools now entering the Philippine
market in the wake of the K-12 reforms.
Pupils are assessed based on written assignments, performance tasks and quarterly
assessments (based on tests and/or performance tasks). The minimum passing grade for
both single subjects and the cumulative year-end average required for promotion is
the grade of 75 (out of 100). Students with lower grades must take remedial classes and
improve their grades in order to progress to the next grade. There are no final graduation
examinations at both the junior and senior secondary levels.
Pupils interested in pursuing TVET may simultaneously start to explore Technology and
Livelihood Education (TLE) subjects in grades 7 and 8, and have the option to start
studying these subjects more extensively in grades 9 and 10. Those that complete a
sufficient number of hours in TLE subjects and pass TESDA assessments may be
awarded a TESDA Certificate of Competency or a National Certificate (see TVET
section below).
Academic Track
Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) Track
Sports Track
Arts and Design Track
Students in all tracks study a core curriculum of 15 required subjects from seven learning
areas, which include: languages, literature, communication, mathematics, philosophy,
natural sciences, and social sciences. The grading scale and methods of assessment used
in SHS are the same as in JHS, but with a stronger emphasis on performance tasks. Upon
completion of grade 12, students are awarded a high school diploma.
The Academic Track is designed to prepare students for tertiary education. It is further
divided into four strands: general academic; accountancy, business and management
(ABM); humanities and social sciences (HUMSS); and science, technology, engineering
and mathematics (STEM).
The TVL Track is intended for students looking to enter the labor force or pursue further
TVET after graduation. It is also divided into four strands: home economics;
agriculture/fishery; industrial arts; and information and communications technology
(ICT). Graduates that pass the relevant TESDA assessment tests are simultaneously
eligible for the award of a TESDA National Certificate I or II (see TVET section below).
The Sports and Arts and Design Tracks are intended to impart “middle-level technical
skills” for careers in sports-related fields and creative industries. Enrollments in these two
tracks will be comparatively small, however. While the Department of
Education expected an estimated 609,000 students to enroll in the academic track, and
another 596,000 students to enroll in the TVL track in 2016, only 20,000 students were
anticipated to opt for the sports or arts and design tracks.
Overall, it is expected that the new overhauled K-12 curriculum will lead to greatly
improved educational outcomes, since it helps “decongest” the highly condensed prior
10-year curriculum. Filipino educators have blamed the old compressed curriculum, at
least in part, for the high dropout rates and lack-luster test scores in recent years, since it
did not afford students the time necessary to absorb and learn all the material presented to
them.
While the TVET sector is smaller in terms of total enrollments and remains less popular
than the tertiary sector, it nevertheless has expanded rapidly over the past years. Between
2000 and 2016, the number of students enrolled in TVET programs increased by 295
percent, from 574,017 students to 2.27 million students. Graduation rates in TVET
programs have improved greatly in recent years and grew from 83 percent in 2010 to 95
percent in 2016.
STRUCTURE
The PQF specifies five levels of TVET qualifications. The National Certificate (NC) I
and NC II are placed at the secondary level and are designed to impart practical skills in a
“limited range of highly familiar and predictable contexts”. These certificates can be
earned by secondary school students at the end of grade 10 or grade 12.
At the NC level, TVET is competency-based, which means that programs are typically
not studied or quantified in a concrete number of semesters or years of study. Instead,
training programs are often modularized and self-paced – a fact that allows students who
are already employed to pursue TVET without having to adhere to a strict schedule of
classes. To earn a qualification, students must acquire a set number of “units of
competency”, formally certified in Certificates of Competency (COCs). COCs may be
awarded upon completion of a set number of hours of instruction, or demonstrated
mastery of certain practical competencies. Assessment may involve oral exams, written
tests, employer assessment, portfolio or work projects.
It is important to note that NCs and COCs are only valid for a period of five years. After
five years, holders of these qualifications must apply for the renewal of their certification
and re-registration in a TESDA-maintained Registry of Certified Workers. If TESDA has
established new competency standards since the original qualification was issued,
applicants must undergo another competency assessment based on the new competency
standards.
TVET INSTITUTIONS AND MODES OF DELIVERY
There are three main modes of TVET delivery in the Philippines: institution-based (at
schools and centers), enterprise-based (at companies), and community-based (at local
government and community organizations).
Enterprise-based programs are typically pursued by trainees who are employed or are
training for employment at a company. These practice-oriented programs include
apprenticeship programs, so-called “learnership” programs, and dual training programs, a
training model adopted from Germany which combines training at a workplace with
theoretical instruction at a school. Most of these programs are based on a contract
between the trainee and the company and are as of now not very common – only slightly
more than 3 percentof TVET students were training in enterprise-based programs in
2016. Apprenticeship programs are usually between four and six months in length,
whereas learnership programs are simply shorter apprenticeship programs lasting up to
three months. Programs in the Dual Training System (DTS), meanwhile, last up to two
years, during which trainees acquire practical job skills augmented by part-time study at a
school.
Community-based programs are designed to provide TVET for “poor and marginal
groups” at the communal level, often in partnership with local government organizations.
Based on local needs and resources, these public programs are not only intended to help
upskill marginalized populations, but also aim to support NGOs and local government.
QUALITY ASSURANCE
TESDA provides quality control for TVET programs through its “Unified TVET Program
Registration and Accreditation System “(UTPRAS). All TVET programs offered at public
and private institutions must be taught in accordance with TESDA’s training regulations
and be officially registered via UTPRAS. In addition, TVET providers can improve their
reputation by seeking accreditation from accrediting bodies like the Asia Pacific
Accreditation and Certification Commission, but this is a voluntary process and not
required for offering TVET programs in the Philippines.
ARTICULATION BETWEEN TVET AND TERTIARY
EDUCATION SECTORS
Until now, the transferability of qualifications and study between the competency-based
TVET and tertiary education sectors is limited. However, the Philippine government
seeks to create a more open and integrated system. In the “Ladderized Education Act of
2014”, it directed CHED, TESDA and the Depart of Education to establish “equivalency
pathways and access ramps allowing for easier transitions and progressions between
TVET and higher education”, including “…qualifications and articulation mechanisms,
such as, but not necessarily limited to the following: credit transfer, embedded TVET
qualification in ladderized degree programs, post-TVET bridging programs, enhanced
equivalency, adoption of ladderized curricula/programs, and accreditation and/or
recognition of prior learning”. It remains to be seen how these changes will be
implemented in the future.
Tertiary Education
TYPES OF HEIS
There are three types of public tertiary education institutions in the Philippines as
classified by CHED:
State universities and colleges or SUCs are defined as public institutions “with
independent governing boards and individual charters established by and financed and
maintained by the national government“. In order to be classified as a university (as
opposed to a college), institutions need to offer graduate programs in addition to a
minimum number of bachelor programs in a range of disciplines. There are presently 112
SUCs in the Philippines.
Local colleges and universities are public institutions established and funded by local
government units. There are presently 107 local universities and colleges.
Other government schools form a category that comprises specialized HEIs that
provide training related to public services, such as the Philippine National Police
Academy or the Philippine Military Academy, for example. There are presently 14 of
these institutions.
PRIVATE HEIS
The vast majority – 88 percent – of HEIs in the Philippines, however, are privately
owned. There were 1,710 private HEIs in operation in the 2016/17 academic year, which
include both religiously affiliated institutions (mostly Catholic schools) and non-sectarian
institutions. Most of these institutions offer the same type of tertiary education programs
as public institutions and are overseen by CHED. A “Manual of Regulations for Private
Higher Education” details specific guidelines for private providers.
Many private HEIs in the Philippines are “demand-absorbing” institutions that fill a gap
in supply created by the massification of education in the Philippines. Amidst limited
capacities and low funding levels in the Philippine higher education system, these
institutions offer those students who cannot get admitted into competitive public
institutions access to tertiary education. It should be noted, however, that with the
exception of top Catholic universities like Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle
University or the University of Santo Tomas, a majority of these institutions are smaller
for-profit providers that enroll fewer than 1,000 students. The quality of education at
many of these profit-driven institutions tends to be below the standards of prestigious
public HEIs.
Enrollment levels at public institutions therefore remain substantial, considering the large
number of private HEIs. While the share of private sector enrollments in the Philippines
is high by international standards, 45.8 percent of the country’s 3.5 million tertiary
students were enrolled in public institutions in the 2016/17 academic year. Just over 39
percent of students studied at state universities and colleges, 6.2 percent at local
universities and colleges, and a small minority of 0.17 percent at other government
schools. The largest university in the Philippines is presently the public Polytechnic
University of the Philippines, which maintains branch campuses throughout the country.
QUALITY ASSURANCE AND ACCREDITATION
The Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has far-reaching authority
over HEIs, including private institutions. It can authorize the establishment or closure of
private HEIs, as well as determine their tuition fees and degree programs. Private HEIs
are required to seek permission for their degree programs and to graduate students from
these programs. Private institutions that have received this permission are authorized to
display a “Special Order Number” (SON) on their academic records. The SON pertains to
a specific credential awarded on a certain date and needs to be requested on a continual
basis for batches of graduates.
However, CHED can exempt HEIs from the requirement to request SONs by declaring
them “autonomous” or “deregulated” institutions – a designation that is granted for five-
year periods and reserved for reputable high quality institutions. Autonomous institutions
have the freedom to establish new degree programs and design their own curricula,
whereas deregulated institutions still need to request permission for new degree
programs, but are exempt from the special order requirements. CHED publishes lists of
autonomous and deregulated universities on its website.
There is also a separate and voluntary accreditation process in the Philippines that allows
HEIs to apply for accreditation of their programs by private accrediting bodies, such as
the “Philippines Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities” or the
“Philippines Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation”.
Accreditation is mostly program-based and encouraged by CHED. The Commission
incentivizes HEIs to seek accreditation by granting institutions with accredited programs
a number of self-regulatory powers, such as financial and administrative autonomy, up to
freedom to independently establish new graduate programs. There are four levels of
accreditation as set forth by CHED:
Level I: Programs have undergone initial review and are accredited for three years.
Level II: Programs have been re-accredited for three to five years, depending on the
assessment of the accreting body. This exempts institutions from applying for the SON,
and allows them to redesign the curricula (within limits) and use the word “accredited”
on publications.
Level III: Programs have been re-accredited and fulfill a number of additional criteria,
such as a strong research focus and high pass rates of graduates in licensing exams. This
level gives HEIs the right to independently establish new programs associated with
already existing level III programs.
Level IV: Programs are considered to be of outstanding quality and prestige, as
demonstrated by criteria like publications in research journals and international
reputation. HEIs have full autonomy in running their accredited level IV programs and
have the right to establish new graduate programs associated with existing level IV
programs.
The most popular fields of study in 2016/17 were business administration, education,
engineering and technology, information and technology and medical studies. Of the
more than 2.2 million students enrolled in these subject areas, about 41 percent chose
business administration and almost 33 percent pursued education studies. Engineering,
information technology and medical studies accounted for 20 percent, 18 percent and 9
percent, respectively.
University Admissions
Admission into university in the Philippines generally requires the high school diploma.
Going forward this means the new K-12 diploma. CHED has announced that beginning
in the 2018/19 academic year, holders of the old 10-year high school diploma are
expected to complete bridging courses before enrolling in undergraduate programs. In
addition, more selective institutions have further requirements such as certain minimum
GPA requirements, adequate scores in the National Achievement Test (NAT) or
institution-specific entrance examinations. There is no nation-wide university entrance
exam as found in other Asian countries.
Degree Structure
Given the impact the U.S. had on the development of the modern Philippine education
system, it is not surprising that tertiary benchmark credentials in the Philippines closely
resemble the U.S. system. Higher education institutions also follow a two
semester system like in the U.S., however the academic year runs from June until March.
Associate Degree
Even though the Associate degree is not included in the Philippine Qualifications
Framework, it is still awarded by several institutions in the Philippines. Associate
programs are typically two years in length, although some older programs used to be
three years in length. Associate programs often have a more vocationally-oriented focus,
but also include a general education component and may be transferred into bachelor’s
programs. Some institutions offer associate degrees as part of a laddered 2+2 system
leading to a bachelor’s degree.
Bachelor’s Degree
Bachelor’s degree programs in standard academic disciplines are four years in length (a
minimum of 124 credits, but most typically between 144-180 credits). The credentials
awarded most frequently are the Bachelor of Science and the Bachelor of Arts. Bachelor’s
programs in professional disciplines like engineering or architecture, on the other hand,
are typically five years in length and have higher credit requirements. Programs include a
sizeable general education core curriculum in addition to specialized subjects. Until
recently, general education courses were typically completed in the first half of the
program, while major-specific courses were mostly taken in higher semesters. The K-12
reforms, however, will lead to changes in curricula and likely reduce the general
education component in bachelor’s programs.
Master’s Degree
Master’s programs require a bachelor’s degree for admission. Programs are typically two
years in length (a minimum of 30 credits, but credit requirements vary from institution to
institution). Depending on the discipline, master’s programs may include a thesis or be
offered as non-thesis programs, with non-thesis programs usually requiring a higher
number of credits and passing of a comprehensive examination.
Doctoral Degree
The doctoral degree is the highest degree in the Philippine education system. Doctoral
programs require a master’s degree for admission and typically involve coursework and a
dissertation, although some pure research programs without coursework also exist. The
most commonly awarded credential is the Doctor of Philosophy. In addition, there are
professional doctorates, such the Doctor Technology or the Doctor of Education. Most
programs have a minimum length of three years, but students often take much longer to
complete the program.
Professional Education
Law programs require a bachelor’s degree for admission, are usually four years in length,
and conclude with the award of the Juris Doctor. Medical programs lead to the award of
the Doctor of Medicine and require four years of study after the bachelor’s degree,
including two years of clinical study. Graduate medical education in medical specialties
involves a further three to six years of residency training after licensure.
Programs in dental and veterinary medicine, on the other hand, usually do not require a
bachelor’s degree for admission. Instead, students are required to complete a two-year
preliminary foundation program with a sizeable general education component before
commencing professional studies. Students graduate with the Doctor of Dental Medicine
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine after a total of six years of study.
Teacher Education
The standard teaching credential in the Philippines is a four-year bachelor’s degree.
Elementary school teachers earn a Bachelor of Elementary Education, whereas secondary
school teachers earn a Bachelor of Secondary Education, with curricula being tailored to
the respective level of education. Curricula are set by CHED and consist of general
education subjects, education-related subjects, specialization subjects and practice
teaching. Holders of bachelor’s degrees in other fields can earn a teacher qualification by
completing a post-graduate program in education. These programs are between one
semester and one year in length and lead to a credential most commonly referred to as the
Certificate of Professional Education.
Grading Scales
There is no standard grading scale at the tertiary level that all institutions follow. It is
more common for HEIs to use their own unique grading scales and include a legend or
description of the scale on their academic transcripts. However, there are a few scales
which are more common than others. The most common one is the 1-5 scale, with 1
being the highest grade. Also commonly used is a 0-100 scale with a minimum passing
grade of 75.
CREDIT SYSTEM
The credit system, on the other hand, is fairly standardized. One credit unit usually
represents at least 16 semester-hours of classroom instruction and most classes require
three hours of in-class study per week. In a typical three-credit course, students, thus,
attend classes for 48 hours per semester. In non-lecture based classes, such as labs or
other practical courses, one credit is usually equivalent to 32 semester hours.
Secondary Education
Higher Education
Academic Transcript – sent directly by the institution (if study for one degree was completed at
multiple institutions, the last institution attended sends a consolidated transcript)
For completed doctoral degrees – a written statement confirming the award of the degree sent directly
by the institution