Access to Education Quality Education EDUCATION • Education (also called learning, teaching or schooling) in the general sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual. • In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, and values from one generation to another. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN THE PHILIPPINES • The education system of the Philippines has been highly influenced by the country’s colonial history. That history has included periods of Spanish, American and Japanese rule and occupation. • The most important and lasting contributions came during America’s occupation of the country, which began in 1898. It was during that period that English was introduced as the primary language of instruction and a system of public education was first established. Structure • Education in the Philippines is offered through formal and non-formal systems. Formal education typically spans 14 years and is structured in a 6+4+4 system: 6 years of primary school education, 4 years of secondary school education, and 4 years of higher education, leading to a bachelor’s degree. This is one of the shortest terms of formal education in the world. Primary Education • Primary school education in the Philippines spans 6 years in duration and is compulsory for all students. This level of education is divided into a four-year primary cycle and a two-year intermediate cycle. In the country’s public schools, Filipino children generally begin school at age 6 or 7; however, private schools typically start a year earlier and operate a seven-year curriculum rather than a six-year curriculum. • Primary Cycle. Four years—Grades 1-4, age 6-11 • Intermediate Cycle—Grades 5 and 6, age 11-13 • There are a number of core subjects that are taught, with varying degrees of difficulty, in all six grades of primary school. Secondary Education • Although secondary education is not compulsory in the Philippines, it is widely attended, particularly in the more urban areas of the country. At this level, private schools enroll a much higher percentage of students than at the elementary level. According to statistics from the Department of Education, roughly 45 percent of the country’s high schools are private, enrolling about 21 percent of all secondary school students Higher Education • Bachelor Degrees • Master Degrees • PhD Degrees • Non-University Higher Education (Vocational and Technical) ACCESS TO EDUCATION • Universal access to education is the ability of all people to have equal opportunity in education, regardless of their social class, gender, ethnicity background or physical and mental disabilities. QUALITY EDUCATION • Quality education enables people to develop all of their attributes and skills to achieve their potential as human beings and members of society. •Quality education is a human right and a public good. •Governments and other public authorities should ensure that a quality education service is available freely to all citizens from early childhood into adulthood. •Quality education provides the foundation for equity in society. •Quality education is one of the most basic public services. It not only enlightens but also empowers citizens and enables them to contribute to the maximum extent possible to the social and economic development of their communities. The value of education is not the learning of many acts but the learning of the mind to think.