The Impact of Spain's 1863 Educational Decree

on the Spread of Philippine Public Schools and

Language Acquisition

Abstract
The Educational Decree of 1863 was an effort by Spain to reform the Philippine colonial
education system. The Decree established a complete system of education in the archipelago—
it required two elementary schools in each municipality (one for girls and one for boys),
standardized the curriculum, and established normal schools, thus making systematized
education available to the masses. In the nineteenth century, educational opportunities opened
to a segment of society previously kept under control by the religious orders through a selective
curriculum of rudimentary academics and a heavy dose of catechism. The colonial logic was to
create a cadre of clerks and officials in service of the new, liberal colonial state, but the
Educational Decree of 1863 had an impact that was the reverse of what Spain intended. The
formal system of education created in the Philippines under Spain, even when unevenly
implemented, provided Filipinos with the tools to function outside of colonial rule.

Today in Philippine History, December 20,

1863, Spain promulgated an educational
decree for reforming the educational system in
the Philippines
On December 20, 1863, Spain promulgated an educational decree for reforming the
educational system in the Philippines.

During the early Spanish occupation, education for the Filipino people centered on religion and
primarily for the elite, especially in the first years of Spanish colonization.

Prior to that, early Filipinos taught their children at home, focusing more on vocational skills
than academics. There were also tribal tutors, but there was no structured educational system.
With the enactment of the Educational Decree of 1863, it liberalized access to education, which
provided for the establishment of at least one primary school for boys and girls in each town
under the responsibility of the municipal government.

There were three grades: "entrada", "acenso", and "termino". The curriculum required the

study of Christian doctrine, values and history as well as reading and writing in Spanish,
mathematics, agriculture, etiquette, singing, world geography, and Spanish history. Girls were
also taught sewing.

The Educational Decree also provided for a normal school run by the Jesuits to educate male
teachers in Manila.

Normal schools for women teachers were not established until 1875, in Nueva Caceres.
Although secondary and higher education were made available to the local inhabitants by
virtue of the 1863 Education Decree, it was only the ilustrados (wealthy locals) who could afford
to send their children to study. Some of them even ventured to Europe to complete their
studies. This access to higher education and exposure to the liberal trends in Europe crystallized
the idea of fighting for independence in the minds of the ilustrados. The education of the
ilustrados indirectly fuelled the nationalist spirit of the locals toward a reform movement, and
consequently a revolution against Spain.

The Education Decree of 1863 provided for two parts: first, the establishment of at least two
free primary schools, one for boys and another for girls, in each town under the control of the
municipal government; and second, the creation of a normal school to train men as teachers,
supervised by the Jesuits. The teaching of Spanish was compulsory. On June 12, 1898, the
revolutionary movement headed by Emilio Aguinaldo declared independence from Spain. Even
before the Philippine islands were ceded to the United States by the Treaty of Paris, the
revolutionaries had already drafted the main principles of the Malolos Constitution written
mainly by Apolinario Mabini in his Constitution Program for the Republic published in July 1898.
The Malolos Constitution mandated a free and compulsory system of elementary education.
Three other schools of higher learning were established by this constitution: The Burgos
Institute of Malolos; the Military Academy of Malolos; and the Literary University of the
Philippines. Tagalog was the language used and taught at all levels during the revolution.