BOCAO, MARY ANN BSED-ENGLISH 02

History of the development of education in the Philippines

(Pre-Spanish to the present)

Before the Philippines attained complete independence in 1946, the country's

education system was patterned on the systems of Spain and the United States--
countries which colonized and governed the country for more than three hundred
years. However, after independence, the country's educational system has
constantly undergone reform.

Pre-colonial period
During the pre-colonial period, most children were provided with solely vocational
training, which was supervised by parents, tribal tutors or those assigned for
specific, specialized roles within their communities (for example, the babaylan). In
most communities, stories, songs, poetry, dances, medicinal practices and advice
regarding all sorts of community life issues were passed from generation to
generation mostly through oral tradition. Some communities utilised a writing
system known as baybayin, whose use was wide and varied, though there are other
syllabaries used throughout the archipelago.

Spanish period
Formal education was brought to the Philippines by the Spaniards, which was
conducted mostly by religious orders. Upon learning the local languages and writing
systems, they began teaching Christianity, the Spanish language, and Spanish
culture. These religious orders opened the first schools and universities as early as
the 16th century. Spanish missionaries established schools immediately after
reaching the islands. The Augustinians opened a parochial school in Cebu in 1565.
The Franciscans, 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, setting up a school in Bataan. The church and
the school cooperated to ensure that Christian villages had schools for students to
attend.

The Spanish also introduced printing presses to produce books in Spanish and
Tagalog, sometimes using baybayin. The first book printed in the Philippines dates
back to 1590. It was a Chinese language version of Doctrina Christiana. Spanish
and Tagalog versions, in both Latin script and the locally used baybayin script, were
later printed in 1593. In 1610, Tomas Pinpin, a Filipino printer, writer and
publisher, who is sometimes referred to 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.

First Republic

The defeat of Spain following the Spanish-American War led to the short-lived
Philippine 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.

American period
About a year after having secured Manila, the Americans were keen to open up
seven schools with army servicemen teaching with army command-selected books
and supplies. In the same year, 1899, more schools were opened, this time, with
24 English-language teachers and 4500 students.

A highly centralised, experimental public school system was installed in 1901 by the
Philippine Commission and legislated by Act No. 74. The law exposed a severe
shortage of qualified teachers, brought about by large enrollment numbers in
schools. 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 and 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.

The high school system was supported by provincial governments and included
special educational institutions, schools of arts and trades, an agricultural school,
and commerce and marine institutes, which were established in 1902 by the
Philippine Commission

Third Republic
In 1947, after the United States relinquished all its authority over the Philippines,
President Manuel Roxas issued Executive Order No. 94 which renamed Department
of Instruction into Department of Education. During this period, the regulation and
supervision of public and private schools belonged to the Bureau of Public and
Private Schools.

Fourth Republic
In 1972, the Department of Education became the Department of Education and
Culture (DECS) under Proclamation 1081, which was signed by President Ferdinand
Marcos.

On September 24, 1972, by Presidential Decree No. 1, DECS was decentralized with
decision-making shared among its thirteen regional offices.

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;

to teach the duties of citizenship; and
to develop moral character, self-discipline, and scientific, technological and
vocational efficiency.

Fifth Republic
A new constitution was ratified on February 2, 1987, and entered into force of
February 11. Section 3, Article XIV of the 1987 Constitution contains the ten
fundamental aims of education in the Philippines. Section 2(2), Article XIV of the
1987 Constitution made elementary school compulsory for all children.
In 1987, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports became again the DECS
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 or
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 their Christmas vacation 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.

Recent years
In 2010, then-Senator Benigno Aquino III expressed his desire to implement the K-
12 basic education cycle to increase the number of years of compulsory education
to thirteen years. According to him, this will "give everyone an equal chance to
succeed" and "have quality education and profitable jobs". After further
consultations and studies, the government under President Aquino formally adopted
the K-6-4-2 basic education system--one year of kindergarten, six years of
elementary education, four years of junior high school education and two years of
senior high school education. Kindergarten was formally made compulsory by virtue
of the Kindergarten Education Act of 2012, while the further twelve years were
officially put into law by virtue of the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.
Although DepEd has already implemented the K-12 Program since SY 2011-2012, it
was still enacted into law to guarantee its continuity in the succeeding years.

The former system of basic education in the Philippines consists of one-year

preschool education, six-year elementary education and four-year high school
education. Although public preschool, elementary and high school education are
provided free, only primary education is stipulated as compulsory according to the
1987 Philippine Constitution. Pre-primary education caters to children aged five. A
child aged six may enter elementary schools with, or without pre-primary
education. Following on from primary education is four-years of secondary
education, which can theoretically be further divided into three years of lower
secondary and one year of upper secondary education. Ideally, a child enters
secondary education at the age of 12. After completing their secondary education,
students may progress to a technical education and skills development to earn a
certificate or a diploma within one to three years, depending on the skill. Students
also have the option to enrol in higher education programmes to earn a
baccalaureate degree.