AN ACT INSTITUTING A FRAME WORK OF GOVERNANCE FOR BASIC EDUCATION,

ESTABLISHING AUTHORITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY, RENAMING THE DEPARTMENT OF

EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS AS THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:
Sec. 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Governance of Basic Education
Act of 2001."
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the State to protect
and promote the right of all citizens to quality basic education and to make such
education accessible to all by providing all Filipino children a free and compulsory
education in the elementary level and free education in the high school level. Such
education shall also include alternative learning systems for out-of-school youth and
adult learners. It shall be the goal of basic education to provide them with the skills,
knowledge and values they need to become caring, seIf-reliant, productive and
patriotic citizens.
The school shall be the heart of the formal education system. It is where children
learn. Schools shall have a single aim of providing the best possible basic education
for all learners.
Governance of basic education shall begin at the national level it is at the regions,
divisions, schools and learning centers herein referred to as the field offices - where
the policy and principle for the governance of basic education shall be translated
into programs, projects and services developed, adapted and offered to fit local
needs.
The State shall encourage local initiatives for improving the quality of basic
education. The State shall ensure that the values, needs and aspirations of a school
community are reflected in the program of education for the children, out-of-school
youth and adult learners. Schools and learning centers shall be empowered to make
decisions on what is best for the learners they serve.chanrobles virtualaw library
Sec. 3. Purposes and Objectives. - The purposes and objectives of this Act are:
(a) To provide the framework for the governance of basic education which shall set
the general directions for educational policies and standards and establish
authority, accountability and responsibility for achieving higher learning
outcomes;cralaw
(b) To define the roles and responsibilities of and provide resources to, the field
offices which shall implement educational programs, projects and services in
communities they serve;cralaw

(c) To make schools and learning centers the most important vehicle for the
teaching and learning of national values and for developing in the Filipino learners
love of country and pride in its rich heritage;cralaw
(d) To ensure that schools and learning centers receive the kind of focused attention
they deserve and that educational programs, projects and services take into
account the interests of all members of the community;cralaw
(e) To enable the schools and learning centers to reflect the values of the
community by allowing teachers/learning facilitators and other staff to have the
flexibility to serve the needs of all learners;cralaw
(f) To encourage local initiatives for the improvement of schools and learning
centers and to provide the means by which these improvements may be achieved
and sustained; and
(g) To establish schools and learning centers as facilities where schoolchildren are
able to learn a range of core competencies prescribed for elementary and high
school education programs or where the out-of-school youth and adult learners are
provided alternative learning programs and receive accreditation for at least the
equivalent of a high school education.chanrobles virtualaw library
Sec. 4. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the terms or phrases used
shall mean or be understood as follows:
(a) Alternative Learning System -is a parallel learning system to provide a viable
alternative to the existing formal education instruction. It encompasses both the
nonformal and informal sources of knowledge and skills;cralaw
(b) Basic Education - is the education intended to meet basic learning needs which
lays the foundation on which subsequent learning can be based. It encompasses
early childhood, elementary and high school education as well as alternative
learning systems four out-of-school youth and adult learners and includes education
for those with special needs;cralaw
(c) Cluster of Schools - is a group of schools which are geographically contiguous
and brought together to improve the learning outcomes;cralaw
(d) Formal Education - is the systematic and deliberate process of hierarchically
structured and sequential learning corresponding to the general concept of
elementary and secondary level of schooling. At the end of each level, the learner
needs a certification in order to enter or advance to the next level;cralaw
(e) Informal Education - is a lifelong process of learning by which every person
acquires and accumulates knowledge, skills, attitudes and insights from daily
experiences at home, at work, at play and from life itself;cralaw

(f) Integrated School. - is a school that offers a complete basic education in one
school site and has unified instructional program;cralaw
(g) Learner - is any individual seeking basic literacy skills and functional life skills or
support services for the improvement of the quality of his/her life;cralaw
(h) Learning Center - is a physical space to house learning resources and facilities of
a learning program for out-of-school youth and adults. It is a venue for face-to-face
learning and activities and other learning opportunities for community development
and improvement of the people's quality of life;cralaw
(i) Learning Facilitator - is the key learning support person who is responsible for
supervising/facilitating the learning process and activities of the learner;cralaw
(j) Non-Formal Education - is any organized, systematic educational activity carried
outside the framework of the formal system to provide selected types of learning to
a segment of the population;cralaw
(k) Quality Education - is the appropriateness, relevance and excellence of the
education given to meet the needs and aspirations of an individual and
society;cralaw
(I) .School - is an educational institution, private and public, undertaking educational
operation with a specific age-group of pupils or students pursuing defined studies at
defined levels, receiving instruction from teachers, usually located in a building or a
group of buildings in a particular physical or cyber site; and
(m) .School Head - is a person responsible for the administrative and instructional
supervision of the school or cluster of schools.
CHAPTER 1
GOVERNANCE OF BASIC EDUCATION
Sec. 5. Principles of Shared Governance. - (a) Shared governance is a principle
which recognizes that every unit in the education bureaucracy has a particular role,
task and responsibility inherent in the office and for which it is principally
accountable for outcomes;cralaw
(b) The process of democratic consultation shall be observed in the decision-making
process at appropriate levels. Feedback mechanisms shall be established to ensure
coordination and open communication of the central office with the regional,
division and school levels;cralaw
(c) The principles of accountability and transparency shall be operationalized in the
performance of functions and responsibilities at all levels; and
(d) The communication channels of field offices shall be strengthened to facilitate
flow of information and expand linkages with other government agencies, local

government units and nongovernmental organizations for effective

governance.chanrobles virtualaw library
Sec. 6. Governance. - The Department of Education, Culture and Sports shall
henceforth be called the Department of Education. It shall be vested with authority,
accountability and responsibility for ensuring access to, promoting equity in, and
improving the quality of basic education. Arts, culture and sports shall be as
provided for in Sections 8 and 9 hereof.chanrobles virtualaw library
Sec. 7. Powers, Duties and Functions. - The Secretary of the Department of
Education shall exercise overall authority and supervision over the operations of the
Department.
A. National Level In addition to his/her powers under existing laws, the Secretary of
Education shall have authority, accountability and responsibility for the following:
(1) Formulating national educational policies;cralaw
(2) Formulating a national basic education plan;cralaw
(3) Promulgating national educational Standards;cralaw
(4) Monitoring and assessing national learning outcomes;cralaw
(5) Undertaking national educational research and studies;cralaw
(6) Enhancing the employment status, professional competence, welfare and
working conditions of all personnel of the Department; and
(7) Enhancing the total development of learners through local and national
programs and/or projects. chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
The Secretary of Education shall be assisted by not more than four (4)
undersecretaries and not more than four (4) assistant secretaries whose
assignments, duties and responsibilities shall be governed by law. There shall be at
least one undersecretary and one assistant secretary who shall be career executive
service officers chosen from among the staff of the Department.
B. Regional Level
There shall be as many regional offices as may be provided by law. Each regional
office shall have a director, an assistant director and an office staff for program
promotion and support, planning, administrative and fiscal services.
Consistent with the national educational policies, plans and standards, the regional
director shall have authority, accountability and responsibility for the following:
(1) Defining a regional educational policy framework which reflects the values,
needs and expectations of the communities they serve;cralaw

(2) Developing a regional basic education plan;cralaw

(3) Developing regional educational standards with a view towards bench-marking
for international competitiveness;cralaw
(4) Monitoring, evaluating and assessing regional learning outcomes;cralaw
(5) Undertaking research projects and developing and managing region wide
projects which may be funded through official development assistance and/or or
other finding agencies;cralaw
(6) Ensuring strict compliance with prescribed national criteria for the recruitment,
selection and training of all staff in the region and divisions.
(7) Formulating, in coordination with the regional development council, the budget
to support the regional educational plan which shall take into account the
educational plans of the divisions and districts;cralaw
(8) Determining the organization component of the divisions and districts and
approving the proposed staffing pattern of all employees in the divisions and
districts;cralaw
(9) Hiring, placing and evaluating all employees in the regional office, except for the
position of assistant director;cralaw
(10) Evaluating all schools division superintendents and assistant division
superintendents in the region;cralaw
(II) Planning and managing the effective and efficient use of all personnel, physical
and fiscal resources of the regional office, including professional staff
development.;cralaw
(12) Managing the database and management information system of the
region;cralaw
(13) Approving the establishment of public and private elementary and high schools
and learning centers; and
(14) Preforming such other functions as may be assigned by proper
authorities. chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
C. Division Level
A division shall consist of a province or a city which shall have a schools division
superintendent, at least one assistant schools division superintendent and an office
staff for programs promotion, planning, administrative, fiscal, legal, ancillary and
other support services.

Consistent with the national educational policies, plans and standards the schools
division superintendents shall have authority, accountability and responsibility for
the following:
(1) Developing and implementing division education development plans;cralaw
(2) Planning and managing the effective and efficient use of all personnel, physical
and fiscal resources of the division, including professional staff development;cralaw
(3) Hiring, placing and evaluating all division supervisors and schools district
supervisors as well as all employees in the division, both teaching and non-teaching
personnel, including school heads, except for the assistant division
superintendent;cralaw
(4) Monitoring the utilization of funds provided by the national government and the
local government units to the schools and learning centers;cralaw
(5) Ensuring compliance of quality standards for basic education programs and for
this purpose strengthening the role of division supervisors as subject area
specialists;cralaw
(6) Promoting awareness of and adherence by all schools and learning centers to
accreditation standards prescribed by the Secretary of Education;cralaw
(7) Supervising the operations of all public and private elementary, secondary and
integrated schools, and learning centers; and
(8) Performing such other functions as may be assigned by proper
authorities. chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
D. Schools District Level
Upon the recommendation of the schools division superintendents, the regional
director may establish additional schools district within a schools division. School
districts already existing at tile time of the passage of the law shall be maintained.
A schools district shall have a schools district supervisor and an office staff for
program promotion.
The schools district supervisor shall be responsible for:
(1) Providing professional and instructional advice and support to the school heads
and teachers/facilitators of schools and learning centers in the district or cluster
thereof;cralaw
(2) Curricula supervision; and
(3) Performing such other functions as may be assigned by proper
authorities. chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary

E. School Level
There shall be a school head for all public elementary schools and public high
schools or a cluster thereof. The establishment of integrated schools from existing
public elementary and public high schools shall be encouraged.
The school head, who may be assisted by an assistant school head, shall be both an
instructional leader and administrative manager. The school head shall form a them
with the school teachers/learning facilitators for delivery of quality educational
programs, projects and services. A core of nonteaching staff shall handle the
school's administrative, fiscal and auxiliary services.
Consistent with the national educational policies, plans and standards, the school
heads shall have authority, accountability and responsibility for the following:
(1) Setting the mission, vision, goals and objectives of the school;cralaw
(2) Creating an environment within the school that is conducive to teaching and
learning;cralaw
(3) Implementing the school curriculum and being accountable for higher learning
outcomes;cralaw
(4) Developing the school education program and school improvement plan;cralaw
(5) Offering educational programs, projects and services which provide equitable
opportunities for all learners in the community;cralaw
(6) Introducing new and innovative modes of instruction to achieve higher learning
outcomes;cralaw
(7) Administering and managing all personnel, physical and fiscal resources of the
school;cralaw
(8) Recommending the staffing complement of the school based on its needs;cralaw
(9) Encouraging staff development;cralaw
(10) Establishing school and community networks and encouraging the active
participation of teachers organizations, nonacademic personnel of public schools,
and parents-teachers-community associations;cralaw
(11) Accepting donations, gifts, bequests and grants for the purpose of upgrading
teachers' learning facilitators' competencies, improving ad expanding school
facilities and providing instructional materials and equipment. Such donations or
grants must be reported to the appropriate district supervisors and division
superintendents; and

(12) Performing such other functions as may be assigned by proper

authorities. chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
The Secretary of Education shall create a promotions board, at the appropriate
levels, which shall formulate and implement a system of promotion for schools
decision supervisors, schools district supervisors, and school heads. Promotion of
school heads shall be based on educational qualification, merit and performance
rather than on the number of teachers/learning facilitators and learners in the
school.
The qualifications, salary grade, status of employment and welfare and benefits of
school heads shall be the same for public elementary, secondary and integrated
schools.
No appointment to the positions of regional directors, assistant regional directors,
schools division superintendents and assistant schools division superintendents
shall be made unless file appointee is a career executive service officer who
preferably shall have risen from the ranks.

Commission on Higher Education (Philippines)

The Commission on Higher Education of the Philippines, abbreviated asCHED, is attached to the
Office of the President for administrative purposes. It covers both public and private higher education
institutions as well as degree-granting programs in all post-secondary educational institutions in the
country.

Chairman[edit]
The former chairman of the Commission on Higher Education was Romulo Neri, formerly Director
General of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and Socioeconomic Secretary.
Neri was also a former Budget Secretary. Former Chairman Puno was replaced by the President,
with Neri appointed to CHED temporarily to conduct a special mission and rehabilitate some of its
aspects as part of the projects of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. On July 9, 2008 however,
Corazon dela Paz resigned as president and chief executive officer of the Social Security System
and the President named Chairman Romulo Neri as head of the SSS. Hence, CHED's post for
chairman is now vacant.[2] On August 20, 2008, Manny Angeles was appointed new CHED
Chairman, replacing Romulo Neri, and will be taking over acting CHED Chair Nona Ricaforte.
Angeles was former chancellor of the Angeles University Foundation and president of the Clark
Development Corporation.[3][4] William Medrano was also appointed commissioner of the CHED on
August 29, 2008.[5]

The Chairman of CHED is also the Chairperson of the Board of Regents of the University of the
Philippines.

Offi ce of the Executive Director

The Office of the Executive Director consists of the Executive Director, the Deputy Executive Director,
and the staff. It serves as head of the Commission Secretariat, and is charged with overseeing the
overall implementation and operations of the CHED Central and Regional Offices. Pivotal to the
successful implementation of the higher education reform agenda, this Office

- Serves as clearinghouse for all communications received from internal and

external sources;
- Coordinates the agenda items and provides secretariat support to the
Chairperson, in collaboration with the commission secretary in the preparation and
documentation of the following major meetings: Commission En Banc (CEB);
Management Committee (ManCom); and the Quarterly National Directorate;
- Closely monitors all central and regional offices, making sure that all units are
pursuing a common road map, consistent with the Commissions reform agenda and
strategic plan;
- Implements and monitors the compliance of Central and Regional Offices with
all CEB decisions and directives; and
- Provides advice to, and directs or assists CHED clients in addressing their
various public service demands/needs.

Commission on Higher Education

Commission on Higher Education

Established:

May 18, 1994

Chairman:

Patricia B. Licuanan, Ph.D.

Website:

www.ched.gov.ph

The Commission on Higher Education (Filipino: Komisyon sa Mas Mataas na Edukasyon) of thePhilippines,
more popularly known as CHED, is one of the three agencies of the Philippine government governing the
education sector. It is primarily responsible for the oversight and supervision of both public and private higher
education institutions as well as degree-granting programs in all tertiary educational institutions in
the Philippines.

History
CHED was created on May 18, 1994, through Republic Act No. 7722, also known as the Higher Education Act
of 1994, as part of a broad agenda for reforms in the country's education system outlined by the Congressional
Commission on Education (EDCOM) in 1992. Part of these reforms resulted in the trifocalization of the
education sector, which was allocated among three governing bodies: the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED) for tertiary and graduate education, the Department of Education (DepEd) for basic education, and
the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for technical-vocational and middle level
education.

Functions and Responsibilities

Mandate
Under R.A. 7722, CHED is mandated to promote quality education; take appropriate steps to ensure that
education shall be accessible to all; and ensure and protect academic freedom for the continuing intellectual
growth, the advancement of learning and research, the development of responsible and effective leadership,
the education of high level professionals, and the enrichment of historical and cultural heritage.

Powers and Functions

CHED has the following powers and functions:

Formulate and recommend development plans, policies,priorities, and programs on higher education;

Formulate and recommend development plans, policies, priorities, and programs on research;

Recommend to the executive and legislative branches priorities and grants on higher education and
research;

Set minimum standards for programs and institutions of higher learning recommended by panels of
experts in the field and subject to public hearing, and enforced the same;

Monitor and evaluate the performance of programs and institutions of higher learning for appropriate
incentives as well as the imposition of sanctions such as, but not limited to, diminution or withdrawal of
subsidy, recommendation on the downgrading or withdrawal of accreditation, program termination or
school course;

Identify, support and develop potential centers of excellence in program areas needed for the
development of world-class scholarship, nation building and national development;

Recommend to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) the budgets of public institutions of
higher learning as well as general guidelines for the use of their income;

Rationalize programs and institutions of higher learning and set standards, policies and guidelines for
the creation of new ones as well as the conversion or elevation of schools to institutions of higher learning,
subject to budgetary limitations and the number of institutions of higher learning in the province or region
where creation, conversion or elevation is sought to be made;

Develop criteria for allocating additional resources such as research and program development grants,
scholarships, and the other similar programs: Provided, that these shall not detract from the fiscal
autonomy already enjoyed by colleges and universities;

Direct or redirect purposive research by institutions of higher learning to meet the needs of agroindustrialization and development;

Devise and implement resource development schemes;

Administer the Higher Education Development Fund, as described in Section 10 of R.A. 7722, which
will promote the purposes of higher education;

Review the charters of institutions of higher learning and state universities and colleges including the
chairmanship and membership of their governing bodies and recommend appropriate measures as basis
for necessary action;

Promulgate such rules and regulations and exercise such other powers and functions as may be
necessary to carry out effectively the purpose and objectives of R.A. 7722; and

Perform such other functions as may be necessary for its effective operations and for the continued
enhancement, growth and development of higher education.

Organizational Structure

Office of the Chairman and Commissioners (OCC) - The Commission en banc acts as a collegial
body in formulating plans, policies and strategies relating to higher education and in deciding important
matters and problems regarding the operation of the CHED. It is composed of five full-time members, the
chairman and four commissioners, each having a term of office of four years. The commissioners meet at
least once a year with the CHED Board of Advisers which assists them in aligning CHED policies and

plans with the cultural, political and socio-economic development needs of the nation and with the
demands of world-class scholarship.
CHED Board of Advisers

Chairman: DepEd Secretary

Co-Chairman: NEDA Director-General

Members:

DTI Secretary

DOLE Secretary

FAAP President

FAPE President

Additional 2 members

Executive Office (EO) - Heads the CHED secretariat that implements the plans and policies of the
Commission; oversees the over-all implementation of policies, programs, projects and activities of the
different offices, namely: Office of Programs and Standards (OSS); Office of Policy, Planning, Research
and Information (OPPRI); Office of Student Services (OSS); International Affairs Service (IAS); Legal
Affairs Service (LAS); Administrative Service (AS); Finance Service (FS); and Regional Offices; . It
coordinates with the HEDF Secretariat in the utilization of HEDF funds for the efficient implementation of
CHED programs and projects.

Program Committee - Serves as a forum for consensus building and review of policy formulations
proposed by the different offices prior to endorsement to the Commission en banc; also serves as a
coordinating advisory body to the Office of Programs and Standards; Office of Policy, Planning, Research
and Information; Office of Student Services; and International Affairs Service on overlapping/crosscutting
concerns including those with other CHED offices in relation to policy formulation.

Office of Programs and Standards (OPS) - Tasked to assist in formulating academic development
plans, policies, standards and guidelines for higher education programs, including alternative learning
systems such as open learning and distance education; develop criteria and instruments in monitoring and
evaluating the enforcement of Policies, Standards and Guidelines (PSGs) by the CHED Regional Offices;
assist in formulating the criteria for selecting Centers of Excellence (COEs) and Centers of Development
(CODs) in various academic programs and in developing the tools for evaluating the impact of COEs and
CODs vis-a-vis students, community and country. The OPS has four divisions under the Office of the
Director: Monitoring and Evaluation Division (Cluster "A"); Program Development Division (Cluster "B");

Standards Development Division (Cluster "C" ); and Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and
Accreditation Program (ETEEAP) (Cluster "D").

Office of Policy, Planning, Research and Information (OPPRI) - Tasked to assist in the
development of sector-wide policies, plans, and programs and formulate/implement projects to improve the
sub-sector; gather, process and analyze higher education data/information; conduct activities needed for
policy/decision making, planning, project development and implementation; and package and disseminate
higher education data/information and research outputs. The OPPRI has three divisions: Policy
Development and Planning Division (PDPD); Research Division (RD); and Management and Information
System Division (MISD).

Office of Student Services (OSS) - Tasked to develop, recommend, monitor and evaluate the
implementation of policies, systems, procedures and programs on matters pertaining to the various
student services in higher education institutions. The OSS has two divisions: the Study Grant Division
(SGD) and the Student Auxiliary Services Division (SASD)

International Affairs Service (IAS) - Tasked to help promote Philippine higher education abroad for
international recognition. It works in concert with all offices of CHED as they pursue their fundamental
functions and objectives to enhance the international orientation and dimension of higher education.

Admistrative Committee - Serves as a forum for consensus building and review of action plans,
programs and services proposed by the Legal Affairs Service, Administrative Service and Finance Service
prior to endorsement to the Commission en banc. It serves as coordinating/advisory body to the three
offices in relation to policy formulation.

Legal Affairs Service (LAS) - Renders efficient and competent legal services to the CHED and its
constituents upon being provided sufficient staff, facilities and resources, by rendering rulings, opinions
and other legal actions on matters concerning the implementation of R.A. 8272, R.A. 7279 and other
relevant education laws, CHED memoranda, orders and guidelines, and the preparation, examination and
implementation of its programs, systems and procedures, as well as issues and concerns affecting the
rights and obligations of the various sectors of the educational community.

Administrative Service (AS) - Tasked to develop and maintain the personnel program that includes
recruitment, selection and appointment, performance evaluation, employee relations and welfare services,
leave administration and other personnel benefits; plan and develop training programs for CHED that are
geared to the needs of the individual as measured by the requirements of his present and probable future
job; and provide property and supply services, records management services, cash management,
reproduction, messengerial and other related services.

Finance Service (FS) - Tasked to prepare the budget proposal of the CHED and coordinate with the
Department of Budget and Management and both Houses of Congress in the preparation of the said
budget; evaluate budgetary proposals of CHED Supervised Institutions (CSIs) and integrate proposed
budget of State Universities and Colleges (SUCs); keeps record of all financial transactions of the CHED,
perform pre-audit functions on all disbursements funded by regular appropriation and render required

financial reports; and review and consolidates financial statements of CSIs and render quarterly
consolidated financial reports.

Higher Education Development Fund Secretariat (HEDF) - Tasked to mobilize funds for the
strengthening of higher education in the entire country and monitor the implementation of programs and
projects to ensure achievement of objectives within the allocated budgets.

Regional Offices (ROs) - Serve as the frontline offices or the implementing units of the CHED in the
different regions of the country. They carry out the CHED's thrusts, programs, and policies at the regional
level and serve as centers or focal points where all concerns, issues, programs and projects of higher
education institutions are facilitated.

Technical Panels (TPs) - Serve as advisory and consultative bodies to the Commission. These are
composed of academicians, practitioners, representatives of professional organizations and appropriate
government agencies.Technical Panels have been created for the following disciplines: Science and
Mathematics; Humanities, Social Sciences and Communication; Information Technology; Health
Profession Education; Engineering, Technology and Architecture; Maritime Education; Business and
Management; Agricultural Education; Teacher Education; and Legal Education and Criminology.

Department of Education
(Redirected from Department of Education (Philippines))

The Department of Education (Filipino: Kagawaran ng Edukasyon), more popularly known asDepEd, formerly
the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (Filipino: Kagawaran ng Edukasyon, Kultura at Palakasan) or
DECS, is the executive department of the Philippine government which is primarily charged with the
management and upkeep of the Philippine educational system. One of three government bodies overseeing
and supervising education in the Philippines, the DepEd is the chief formulator of Philippine educational policy
and is responsible for the Philippine primary and secondary school system, while CHED is responsible for
tertiary and graduate education and TESDA is responsible for technical-vocational and middle level education.

History
In pre-Hispanic times, education in the Philippines was informal and unstructured, without any fixed
methodology. Children were usually taught by their parents and tribal tutors and such education was geared
more towards skills development. This underwent a major change when Spain colonized the islands. Tribal
tutors were replaced by Spanish missionaries, and education became oriented more towards academics and
the Catholic religion. It was also primarily for the elite, especially in the early years of the colony. Later,
however, the Educational Decree of 1863was enacted, providing for the establishment of at least one primary
school for boys and girls in each town under the responsibility of the municipal government; and the
establishment of a normal school for male teachers under the supervision of the Jesuits. Primary instruction
was free and the teaching of Spanish was compulsory. More significantly, this decree also established the
Superior Commission of Primary Instruction, a forerunner of the present Department of Education.
Under Aguinaldos Revolutionary Government, the Spanish schools were initially closed, but were reopened on
August 29, 1898 by the Secretary of the Interior. A system of free and compulsory elementary education was
established by the Malolos Constitution. The Burgos Institute inMalolos, the Military Academy of Malolos, and
the Literary University of the Philippines were also established.
During the American occupation, an adequate secularized and free public school system was established upon
the recommendation of theSchurman Commission. Per instructions of President William McKinley, the Taft

Commission enforced free primary instruction that trained the people for the duties of citizenship, and assigned
chaplains and non-commissioned officers to teach, using English as the medium of instruction.
The Philippine Commission instituted a highly centralized public school system in 1901, by virtue of Act No. 74,
which also established the Department of Public Instruction, headed by a General Superintendent. However,
the implementation of this Act caused a heavy shortage of teachers, leading the Philippine Commission to
authorize the Superintendent of Public Instruction to bring 600 teachers from the United States to the
Philippines. These teachers would later be popularly known as the Thomasites. Later, the Organic Act of
1916 reorganized the Department of Public Instruction, mandating that it be headed by a Secretary, and that all
department secretaries should be Filipinos, except for the Secretary of Public Instruction.
During World War II, the department was reorganized once again through the Japanese Military Order No. 2 in
1942, which established the Commission of Education, Health, and Public Welfare. With the establishment of
the Japanese-sponsored Republic, the Ministry of Education was created on October 14, 1943. Under the
Japanese, the teaching of Tagalog, Philippine History, and Character Education was given priority. Love for
work and the dignity of labor were also emphasized.
In 1947, after the Philippine Commonwealth had been restored, the Department of Instruction was changed to
Department of Education by virtue of Executive Order No. 94. During this period, the regulation and supervision
of public and private schools belonged to the Bureau of Public and Private Schools. In 1972, the Department of
Education became the Department of Education and Culture by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1, and
subsequently became the Ministry of Education and Culture in 1978 by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1397.
Thirteen regional offices were created and major organizational changes were implemented in the educational
system.
The Education Act of 1982 created the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, which later became the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports in 1987 by virtue of Executive Order No.
117 of President Corazon C. Aquino. The structure of DECS as embodied in EO No. 117 practically remained
unchanged until 1994, when the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) was established to supervise
tertiary degree programs , and 1995, when the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)
was established to supervise non-degree technical-vocational programs.
The trifocal education system refocused DECS mandate to basic education which covers elementary,
secondary and nonformal education, including culture and sports. TESDA now administers the post-secondary,
middle-level manpower training and development, while CHED is responsible for higher education.
In August 2001, Republic Act No. 9155, otherwise called the "Governance of Basic Education Act", was passed
renaming the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) to the Department of Education (DepEd)
and redefining the role of field offices, which include regional offices, division offices, district offices, and
schools.

List of Secretaries of Education

Month started

Month finished

Name

Position

Secretaries of Public Instruction

1935

1940

Sergio Osmena

1940

1941

Jorge Bocobo

Secretaries of Public Instruction, Health, and Public Welfare Commonwealth War Cabinet

1942

1944

Sergio Osmena

Commissioner of Public Instruction Philippine Executive Commission

1942

1943

Claro M. Recto

Minister of Public Instruction 2nd Republic

1943

1945

Jorge Bocobo

Secretaries of Education, Culture and Sports

February 1986

December 1989

Lourdes Quisumbing

January 1990

June 1992

Isidro Cario

July 1992

July 1994

Armand Fabella

August 1994

December 1997

Ricardo Gloria

January 1998

June 1998

Erlinda Pefianco

July 1998

January 2001

Br. Andrew Gonzalez

February 2001

August 2001

Raul Roco

Secretaries of Education

August 2001

August 2002

Raul Roco

September 2002

July 2004

Edilberto de Jesus

July 2004

July 2005

Florencio Abad

July 2005

September 2005

Ramon Bacani

OIC

September 2005

July 2006

Fe Hidalgo

Acting

July 2006

June 30, 2010

Jesli Lapus

June 30, 2010

present

Armin A. Luistro, FSC

Functions and Responsibilities

Organization

Office of the Secretary

Administrative Services - Responsible for providing the Department with economical, efficient, and

effective services relating to legal assistance, information records, supplies, equipment, security and
custodial work.

Office of the Director

Legal Division

General Services Division

Dental Clinic

Medical Clinic

Radio Communication Network Unit

Security Service Unit

Records Division

Property Division

Teachers Camp
Financial and Management Service

Budget Division

Accounting Division

Management Division

Payroll Services Division

Systems Division

Cash Division.
Human Resource Development Service - Develops and administers personnel programs which

include selection and placement, classification and pay, career and employment development performance
appraisal, employee relations and welfare services.

Personnel Division

Projects

Monitoring and evaluation of Personnel Records and Current Personnel

Actions in the different Regional and Division Offices.

Establishment of the DECS Personnel Information System (PIS)

National Search Committee

Revision of the DECS Performance Appraisal System (PAS)

DECS-PLM Off-Campus Masteral and Doctoral Programs

Review of Position Description to update position titles in DECS

Personnel Audit of Schools and Personnel of the Central Office

Employees Welfare and Benefits Division

DECS Provident Fund

DECS Expanded Shelter Program

DECS Cooperative Program

DECS Employees Suggestion and Incentive Awards System (ESIAS)

Pre-Retirement Innovation and Option for Results (PRIOR)

DECS-PVB Financial Assistance

DECS Hospitalization Fund Program

Staff Development Division

Special Programs

Values Orientation Workshop

Human Rights Education

Peace Educations

Gender and Development

Graft and Corruption Prevention Education

Programs

Local and Foreign Scholarships

Skills Enhancement Programs of DECS Non-Teaching Personnel

Computer Literacy Programs

Career Planning and Development

Automatic Progression Scheme

Alternative Training Delivery Systems

The Distance Training Program (DTP)

Expanded Shelter Program

DECS Provident Fund

DECS Hospitalization Guarantee Fund Program

DECS Grievance machinery

DECS Employees Suggestions and Incentives Awards System

DECS Teachers and Employees Cooperatives

Pre-Retirement Innovations and Options for Results

Planning Service - Responsible for providing the department with effective and efficient services like
generating and processing of education- related data, developing educational programs/projects, program

monitoring, assessment and evaluation, planning and programming of educational facilities and providing
technical assistance to requesting offices from the national to the sub-national levels related to the
planning and related activities.

Planning and Programming Division

Project Development and Evaluation Division

Research and Statistics Division

Physical Facilities Division

Technical Service

Materials Production and Publication Division

Educational Information Division

Audio-Visual Division

Educational Technology Unit

DepEd MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

To carry out its mandates and objectives, the
Department is organized into two major structural components. The Central Office maintains
the overall administration of basic education at the national level. The Field Offices are
responsible for the regional and local coordination and administration of the Departments
mandate. RA 9155 provides that the Department should have no more than four
Undersecretaries and four Assistant Secretaries with at least one Undersecretary and one
Assistant Secretary who are career service officers chosen among the staff of the
Department.
At present, the Department operates with four Undersecretaries in the
areas of: (1) Programs and Projects; (2) Regional Operations; (3) Finance and
Administration; and (4) Legal Affairs; four Assistant Secretaries in the areas of: (1) Programs
and Projects; (2) Planning and Development; (3) Budget and Financial Affairs; and (4) Legal
Affairs.
7.
Backstopping the Office of the Secretary at the Central Office are the different
services, bureaus and centers. The five services are the Administrative Service, Financial
and Management Service, Human Resource Development Service, Planning Service, and
Technical Service. Three staff bureaus provide assistance in formulating policies, standards,
and programs related to curriculum and staff development. These are the Bureau of
Elementary Education (BEE), Bureau of Secondary Education (BSE), and the Bureau of

Nonformal Education (BNFE). By virtue of Executive Order No. 81 series of 1999, the
functions of a fourth bureau, the Bureau of Physical Education and School Sports (BPESS),
were absorbed by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) last August 25, 1999.
Six
centers or units attached to the Department similarly provide technical and administrative
support towards the realization of the Departments vision. These are the National Education
Testing and Research Center (NETRC), Health and Nutrition Center (HNC), National
Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), Educational Development Projects
Implementing Task Force (EDPITAF), National Science Teaching Instrumentation Center
(NSTIC), and Instructional Materials Council Secretariat (IMCS). There are four special
offices under OSEC: the Adopt-a-School Program Secretariat, Center for Students and Cocurricular Affairs, Educational Technology Unit, and the Task Force Engineering Assessment
and Monitoring.
8. 7,683 secondary schools (4,422 public and 3,261 private)40,763 elementary schools
(36,234 public and 4,529 private) Other attached and support agencies to the Department
are the Teacher Education Council (TEC), Philippine High School for the Arts, Literacy
Coordinating Council (LCC), and the Instructional Materials Council (IMC).
At the subnational level, the Field Offices consist of the following: Sixteen (16) Regional Offices,
including the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM*), each headed by a
Regional Director (a Regional Secretary in the case of ARMM); One hundred fifty-seven
(157) Provincial and City Schools Divisions, each headed by a Schools Division
Superintendent. Assisting the Schools Division Offices are 2,227 School Districts, each
headed by a District Supervisor; Under the supervision of the Schools Division Offices are
forty-eight thousand, four hundred forty-six (48, 446) schools, broken down as follows:
The Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE) is responsible for providing access and quality
elementary education for all. It also focuses on social services for the poor and directs public
resources and efforts at socially disadvantaged regions and specific groups. The Bureau of
Secondary Education (BSE) is responsible for providing access and quality secondary education. Its
aim is to enable every elementary graduate to have access to secondary education. It improves
access to secondary education by establishing schools in municipalities where there are none and
reviews the overall structure of secondary education as regards curriculum, facilities, and teachers
in-service training.

The Bureau of Non-formal Education (BNFE) is responsible for

contributing to the improvement of the poor through literacy and continuing education programmes.
Its aim is to provide focused basic services to the more disadvantaged sections of the population to
improve their welfare and contribute to human resource development.

Acess and Equity in education

Figure -2: Distribution of Philippine EFA Costs by Component

The Philippine EFA Strategy
The foregoing background of the state of primary education and
EFA targets thus provided the framework for the formulation of the
Philippine EFA strategy. The strategy aimed to ensure that there
would be universal basic education of appropriate standards by
addressing the access, equity, quality, relevance and sustainability
concerns relative to the flow of students into and within the
system. Special attention was to be focused on particular target
groups. EFA efforts were to be directed towards bringing basic
education to the rural poor, the urban slums, cultural communities,
refugees, women, the disabled, and other educationally
disadvantaged groups.
Under the PPA, EFA was operationalised as providing elementary
education (Grades 1 to 6) for all Filipinos by the year 2000.

Education sector and non-education agencies were to jointly

implement the EFA programme, whose primary goal was to meet
basic learning needs, which consist of the basic learning tools and
basic learning contents. The first include literacy, numeracy,
problem solving and oral expression while the second include
knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary for people to
survive, to improve the quality of their lives and to continue
learning. In furtherance of the main EFA strategy, four major
interventions were to be undertaken, i.e., (i) institutionalisation of
early childhood care and development, (ii) provision of universal
quality primary education; (iii) eradication of illiteracy; and (iv)
continuing educational development for adults and out-of-school
youth, that subsumed the six target dimensions defined in
UNESCOs Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs.
Access to early childhood care and development services was to
be expanded not just for its child custodial, socialisation and
values formation functions but also as a fundamental anti-poverty
input that would improve the internal efficiency of elementary
education. With broadened ECCD provision, future elementary
school entrants would be equipped with the learning skills and get
the needed health-nutrition services crucial to their survival in
schools. Those who take care of pre-school children, i.e., the
parents, surrogate parents and guardians, were likewise to be
accorded attention through relevant training programmes that
would enhance their knowledge of and skills in rearing children in
preparation for future schooling.
Educational authorities were to assure those already in school
stayed there and were provided good quality educational inputs,
primarily through curriculum reform and teacher development. The
achievement levels that were to be raised encompass the
development of creativity, critical thinking and functionality. In
recognition of resource differences, compensatory provision of
educational inputs was to be resorted to primarily with nontraditional methods for delivering basic education. This was
intended to promote equity and ensuring the maximised
participation of under-served groups.
For those outside of the educational mainstream, such as nonliterate, semi-literate adults and out-of-school youths, broader

access to the alternative learning systems was to be ensured to

provide them functional literacy skills and continuing education for
development (CED). The ALS was equally meant to serve
developmental functions: through it learners would go on learning
towards the development of a learning society, the scope of
choices of learners in acquiring education would be widened,
certain inherent inadequacies and limitations of the school system
would be addressed and the way for the so-called borderless or
"open" learning would be smoothly paved.
All the above thrusts were to have been implemented through a
closely linked multi-sectoral approach to education that was to be
promoted in a "grand alliance" scheme among all the public and
private sector EFA participants.
1. The Environment for EFA
One single accomplishment that the Philippines could be noted for
in the implementation of the EFA programme concerns the
decisive moves it took that in their totality internalised the EFA
vision. During the decade of the 1990s, the Philippines saw a
number of interrelated developments that created an environment
highly favourable to the pursuit of the ideals of education for all. A
chronological recollection reveals a series of events that had
deep-reaching impacts on the orientation and structure of basic
education and its delivery mechanisms. The Philippines
succeeded in establishing an EFA orientation that extends beyond
the EFA plan period and well into the next millennium.
The Philippine Plan of Action
The first, of course, was the completion of the Philippine Plan of
Action (PPA) for EFA. The PPA was the culmination of arduous
work that started with the preparation of the EFA Framework in
1989 and the subsequent issuance, in October 16th of the same
year, of Presidential Proclamation No. 480. This Proclamation,
aside from declaring the period 1990 to 1999 as the "Decade of
Education for All," also directed the preparation of the national
action plan and the initiation of a legislative agenda in support of
EFA. In 1990, the National Economic and Development Authority
(NEDA) endorsed the framework that later evolved to become the
PPA. A year later, in June 1991, the Government released the

PPA with the President of the Philippines approval. This plan was
subsequently considered a model for other countries and was
noted for its being a "well-designed and comprehensive document
that specified national goals, objectives, policies and strategies as
well as regional programmes for implementation."
Enlarged Role of Local Governments
In 1991, the Local Government Code (LGC) was enacted. This
law provided the local government units (LGUs) greater resources
to support elementary and secondary education. The LGC has
empowered the LGUs with more autonomy and spending power
primarily through their Internal Revenue Allotments (IRAs) and
their greater authority for resource generation and mobilisation. In
addition, among the central government functions slated for
devolution to the LGUs is school building construction and
maintenance. Thus, the local governments are increasingly
providing educational inputs like books, classroom furniture and
additional teachers, reducing the financial pressure on the central
government. Local governments participate in the operation of the
educational system through their respective local school boards.
Republic Act No. 5447, enacted in 1968, and Section 98 of the
1991 Local Government Code are the legal bases for the
existence of school boards in every province, city and
municipality. A local school boards overriding task is to administer
the special education fund with the aim of upgrading standards in
the public schools. It is inherent in the boards charter, and
therefore incumbent upon them to give priority to: a) construction,
repair and maintenance of school buildings and other facilities of
public elementary and secondary schools; b) establishment and
maintenance of extension classes where necessary; and c) sports
activities at the division, district, municipal and barangay levels.
However, more than the enhanced capacity to spend on
education, the biggest contribution of the LGC could very well be
that it has brought the direction of education closer to the
stakeholders, and with it, the greater responsibility that they now
have over their respective communities educational future.
The LGC likewise mandated the devolution of many social sector
services to the LGUs. The maintenance of public day care
services, once the responsibility of the Department of Social

Welfare and Development and the implementation of health

services formerly run by the Department of Health were
transferred to the LGUs. These developments had two major but
conflicting implications; the first is that closer community control
and management could have resulted in better services to the
clients and the second is that the provision of such services would
have suffered from wide variations among localities in terms of the
intensity and quality of inputs.
Enhanced Child Development Policies
Before the EFA decade, there were already extant laws that
provided unambiguous support for child development as opposed
to just child survival. The Child and Youth Welfare Code,
promulgated by virtue of Presidential Decree 603 prior to 1984
established childrens basic rights to adequate food, shelter,
clothing and protection and unequivocally ensured the childs right
to a well-rounded personality development to the end that he may
become a happy, useful and active member of society. In addition
to this, the 1987 Barangay Level Total Development and
Protection of Children Act obliged the Department of Social
Welfare and Development to provide funds for establishing and
maintaining day care centres. Then in 1990, the Philippines
signed the International Convention of the Rights of the Child. In
support of its obligations under that convention, the Council for
the Welfare of Children produced the Philippine Plan of Action for
Children (PPAC), which details the countrys commitment to
extending the coverage, and improving the quality, of the full
range of programmes affecting child development. At about the
same time, the National Nutrition Council, an arm of the
Department of Agriculture, laid down the Philippine Plan of Action
for Nutrition (PPAN). This plan set out the policy framework for
nutrition that could lead to the virtual elimination of vitamin and
mineral deficiencies among children. Lastly, in 1995, the
Philippine Congress passed the Act to Promote Iodisation
Nationwide, which could result in the elimination of iodine
deficiency and goiter among children.
DECS Focus on Basic Education
In 1994, the Government decided to restructure the education
sector in line with the recommendations of the Congressional

Education Commission (EDCOM). This resulted, inter alia, in the

specialisation by level of education of the major governmental
agencies responsible for the provision of education and training.
The Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) was
made to focus on elementary and secondary education. Pursuant
to its new mandate, the DECS endeavoured to prepare a 10-year
(1996-2005) Master Plan for Basic Education (MPBE) to guide the
future direction of the sub-sector, adopting the EFA programme as
its centrepiece. By doing so, the Philippines embraced all the
fundamental elements of EFA, from its four basic thrusts to the
broad strategies meant to shape the expanded vision of basic
education, and translated them into national educational
performance goals. The Philippines had therefore carried its EFA
Plan of Action much farther ahead. For while it was committed to
seeing through the EFA programme up to the end of the century, it
had nonetheless seen fit to still extend this commitment into the
future. Although the expression of this commitment was
constrained by the timeframe limitations of rational long-term
planning, the spirit of support for EFA had been stamped indelibly
and irretrievably. Because of the interweaving of the EFA
objectives within the broader MPBE, subsequent policies,
programmes and projects were then consciously formulated
against the backdrop of EFA objectives. The Philippines
commitment to EFA had thus become much more intensive than
was originally planned.
2. The Evolution of EFA
The implementation of EFA in the Philippines has undergone an
evolution or process of change that could be discerned in two
distinct stages. In roughly its first three years (1991-1993), EFA
was executed within the context of the DECS organisation prior to
its restructuring in 1994. At that time the DECS had the
responsibility for all levels and types of education, i.e., from
elementary to tertiary, including vocational training. Since EFA is
primarily a concern of primary or basic education (defined here
within the formal Philippine structure as elementary education)
and non-formal education, it was thought then that there was
justification and actual need for specialised organisational units
and processes to handle EFA as a specific concern. Thus, the
policy and management structures that were planned under the

PPA were brought into fruition and operationalised albeit only for a
limited period. This was because beginning in 1994, reforms
within the education sector brought about by the legislation of the
EDCOM recommendations resulted in DECS concentration in
elementary, secondary and non-formal education. The completion
of the MPBE and its release in 1995 to serve as the guide for
DECS future directions therefore ushered in the second stage of
the EFA evolution. The findings and recommendations of this
assessment may well pave the way for the third stage.
The Philippines MPBE was in reality built upon, and is an
expanded version of EFAs education components. In a sense
then, the DECS believes that it had virtually become EFA and
vice-versa, at least in so far as universal quality primary education
(UQPE) was concerned. It absorbed the four basic thrusts of EFA
as the fundamental anchors of its mainline programmes and
harnessed the entire resources of the DECS behind them. The
MPBE established some new targets that reflected numerical
goals that were more realistic and implicitly lengthened the EFA
programmes implementation from 10 years to 15 years. This
change is conceivably a welcome one in view of the obvious
hiatus in EFA implementation that transpired during 1993-94. It
was a crucial period that saw the DECS busy struggling with the
onslaught of dismemberment on one hand and seeking ways to
adapt to the inevitable transformation of its mandates on the
other.
One other profound change in the countrys EFA programme was
the organisational restructuring affecting EFA implementation
mechanisms. As a natural consequence of the mainstreaming of
the EFA programme, extraneous and ad hoc organisational
overlays that were meant to aid in pushing the PPA were deemed
superfluous. Instead, long-established and permanent
mechanisms and structures were relied on to avoid the paralysis
normally associated with temporary committees. For instance, the
EFA PPA called for the operation of a National Committee for EFA
(NCEFA) and Regional EFA Committees (RCEFAs) for purposes
of inter-sectoral and inter-agency co-ordination. However,
subsequent EFA-related actions, being subsumed as they already
were starting in 1995 under the MPBE, were instead coursed
through the Social Development Committee of the NEDA and the

Regional Development Councils, which carry membership rosters

very similar to the NCEFA and the RCEFAs. Other specialised
units established as called for by the PPA, such as the National
Technical Secretariat (NTS) and the central and local project
management teams, were likewise rendered unnecessary
because EFA ceased to be a mere project like the myriad ones
previously and currently implemented by the DECS. In fact, it
became the basic objective of all activities within the Department.
Through the MPBE, EFA had been inextricably embedded within
the DECS fabric, and had become the overriding responsibility of
all its units.
The evolution of the Philippine EFA can be considered as an
exemplar in vision assimilation and organisational adaptation. The
concentration of the DECS on elementary, secondary and nonformal education and the birth of the MPBE had blurred the lines
initially drawn between EFA UQPE literacy components and the
regular activities of the DECS. EFA had transmutated from a
distinct and special programme into an EFA that has become the
overarching philosophy and integral strategy of basic education.
3. Philippine EFA Thrusts on Early Childhood Development
Expansion of Self-sustaining Community-based ECCD
During the EFA decade, various community-based ECCD
interventions were intensified and expanded with the end in view
of reaching out to the remote and less privileged communities.
These include, among others, the establishment of communitybased pre-schools, day care centres, and barangay health
stations as well as the training of parent volunteers for homebased ECCD, midwives and barangay health workers. This
development partly but significantly resulted from the
governments ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child in July 1990 and its endorsement of the World Declaration
on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children during
the during the 1990 World Summit for Children. As its commitment
to the World Summit, the Philippine government formulated and
adopted the Philippine Plan of Action for Children (PPAC), which
has become the basis for subsequent policies, programs and
activities related to children. Significantly, the EFA Plan of Action,
among others, served as a major input into the PPAC formulation.

Moreover, the Ramos Administrations Social Reform Agenda

(SRA) provided an added impetus and a geographical focus to the
delivery of the various ECCD services, thereby ensuring that the
poorest provinces of the country were reached. The
Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services
(CIDSS), the flagship program of DSWD under the SRA that was
launched in 1994, provided basic services, including ECCD, to the
most needy barangays.
The devolution of basic social services in 1992 in the light of the
Local Government Code brought the management of the abovementioned programs closer to the communities. In connection
with this, capability-building, social mobilisation and advocacy to
the LGUs have been intensified to ensure that priority is given to
the delivery of basic social services. The UNICEF-assisted Fourth
Country Programme for Children (CPC IV), which consists of
various community-based social services, including ECCD, was
designed.
1. The Day Care Centre Programme
The concept of day care services was originally
started as feeding centres through the now abolished
Bureau of Agricultural Extension, to which mental
feeding was added. Large-scale expansion of the
public day care system started only after the passage
of the 1978 Barangay Day Care Law. There are also
privately-run day care centres that are operated
through NGOs and private entrepreneurs. The DSWD
used to provide for the public day care centres, but
after the devolution mandated under the Local
Government Code of 1991, the responsibility has
been placed in LGU hands. Government centres are
designed to accommodate 30 children at a time, such
that when morning and afternoon sessions are run,
the total capacity is supposed to be 60. However,
most of these centres operate at far less than full
capacity. There has also been a modest breakthrough
in the provision of day care services by factories for
their female employees. In addition to the communitybased centres, there are also centres located in the

different government offices and government-owned

and controlled corporations. To date, there are 20 of
such offices and corporations both in the central and
regional offices operating day care centres for their
employees.
Use of Innovative Approaches to Parent
Education
2. Parent Effectiveness Service (PES)
This is a parent education programme that was
implemented by the DSWD since 1972, but which
was transferred to the LGUs by virtue of the
devolution of central government functions. Since
1979, within the GOP-UNICEF CPC IV, PES has
been the major component of the home-based parent
education programme. It provides parents with child
development information.
The present World Bank-assisted Early Childhood
Development Project (1998-2003) seeks to upgrade
the PES program through the introduction of a Mother
and Child book, which provides a permanent record of
child growth and development from birth to his sixth
birthday, and reproduction and distribution of an
updated version of a parents manual on early child
development. Further upgrading of the PES will also
be carried out in the context of LGU sub-projects.
While PES efforts had been concentrated in the past
on mothers, a recent addition to this intervention is
the (Empowerment and Reaffirmation of Parental
Abilities) ERPAT, which is focused on the training of
fathers so that they could fully appreciate their roles in
child rearing. This initiative is currently being piloted in
Regions V, VI and X.
Promotion of Preparatory Education
3. DECS Pre-school Programme

This program was launched in 1993 and initially

implemented in the 20 priority divisions for
Countryside Development Programmes. It aims to
provide 5-year-old children in the disadvantaged
areas the stimulating experiences required to develop
their social, motor and readiness skills, so that they
would be prepared for socialisation before starting
Grade I work. The programme is now on its 6th year of
implementation.
4. Community-Based Preschools
As far back as 1971, DECS had already issued a
policy document encouraging the school divisions to
establish public preschool classes whenever possible.
In January 1995, DECS conducted a survey to assess
the preschools and one of the conclusions was that
the Government could not afford to provide this
service in all divisions. Thus, in March of the same
year, DECS issued a statement on early childhood
education that affirmed the importance of preschooling but also stated that preschools should be
developed by the community to provide early
childhood development experiences for 5-year old
children before they enter Grade 1. Thus, the concept
of community-based non-profit preschools, to be
established through a collective partnership that
includes DECS, NGOs and LGUs is being promoted.
5. Early Childhood Experiences for Grade I
Another alternative developed by DECS is the
integration of ECD into Grade 1. This project is being
implemented by the Bureau of Elementary Education
(BEE). It started as a summer school experiment in
1991, consisting of a six-week programme for children
6.5 to 7 years of age. An evaluation of the programme
showed that the dropout rate for summer preschool
attendees was only 1 percent compared to the 15
percent among those who had no summer preschool
exposure. Because of the positive results, DECS
decided to continue this activity, but not during the

summer considering the difficulty of getting teachers

to teach and children to attend during the summer.
Thus, DECS now has an 8-week programme (6
weeks of pre-schooling plus 2 weeks of transition)
that is introduced during the initial 2 months of Grade
1. The ongoing World Bank-assisted Early Childhood
Development Project (1998-2003) will finance the
refinement and finalisation of the 8-week module and
the modified Grade 1 curriculum containing it; design,
production, printing and distribution of related
teaching materials; and in-service training of teachers.
6. Pre-school Service Contracting
DECS initiated the Pre-school Service Contracting
Scheme as an alternative delivery system. In 1997,
pre-school classes were organised in the 5th and
6th class municipalities, urban poor and resettlement
areas (for those affected by natural calamities and
armed conflict) through service contracting. Service
providers are NGOs, private schools, LGUs and
PTCAs. The general arrangement is that DECS will
pay P250 per child per month for 6 months while the
service providers will organise classes with 20-25
pupils per class as well as provide the salary of
qualified teachers, school/classroom facilities,
adequate instructional materials and basic school
supplies. Funding comes from the DECS regular
budget supplemented by the Bases Conversion
Development Authority (BCDA) from funds raised
through the sale of military camps.
7. Expansion of Entry to Grade 1 to Six Year-Olds
In school year 1995-96, DECS lowered the entry age
for Grade I to six and a half years and subsequently
to six years the following school year. To give itself
time to plan effectively for teaching assignments,
classrooms and textbooks, DECS, through Order No.
65, s. 1994, instituted the National School Enrolment
Day (NSED) for children who shall have reached the
age of six and a half (later reduced to six years) by

the beginning of the school year. Beginning in

January 30, 1995, the NSED has been held on the
last Monday of January of every year.
Accreditation of Private Preschool Programmes
and Institutions
8. Private Sector-Provided Pre-schooling
Another important provider of preschools and
kindergartens is the entrepreneurial side of the private
sector (as contrasted with the essentially non-profit
NGOs). These schools cater mostly to children of
affluent families who understand the value of
preschool education and are therefore not generally
accessible to those most in need. A development
related to this is that in 1989, DECS issued standards
for the organisation and operation of pre-schools
particularly with regard to the curriculum, staff
requirements and physical environment. This was in
response to the observed proliferation of pre-school
curricular offerings and the increasing tendency of
pre-schools then to focus on academic development
rather than to cater to the needs of the child for his
total development.
Differentiated Approaches for Special Categories
of Children
9. Development of Children from Indigenous Cultural
Communities
The Philippine commitment to protect and promote
the rights of children has been manifested through the
passage in 1991 of Republic Act 7610, the Special
Protection of Children against Child Abuse,
Exploitation and Discrimination Act, its amendments
through Republic Act 7658, and their corresponding
rules and regulations. R.A. 7610 calls for, among
others, the protection, survival and development of
children of indigenous cultural communities consistent
with their customs and traditions. The DECS is also

enjoined to develop and institute an alternative

system of education for children of indigenous
communities, which is culture-specific and relevant to
the needs and existing situation in their communities.
Moreover, the law provides that the delivery of basic
services in health and nutrition be given priority by all
concerned government agencies, giving due respect
and recognition to the health practices, beliefs and
customs of such communities.
10.
Development of Children in Situations of Armed
Conflict (CSAC)
R.A. 7610 seeks to ensure the survival and protection
of children in situations with on-going armed
hostilities. The CSAC component of the UNICEF
Country Programme for Children (CPC) ensures the
delivery of basic services, provides physical and
psychological recovery services, and protects and
promotes the rights of children in situations of armed
conflict. Among the activities undertaken under the
program includes training of day care workers on
ECCD and psychosocial interventions; production and
distribution of kits on early childhood enrichment
programme; conduct of parent effectiveness
seminars; training of community health volunteers;
health and nutrition classes for mothers; training on
critical incident stress debriefing for parents and care
givers; and provision of safe water and sanitary
facilities.
11.Expansion of the Special Education Programme
(SPED)
The Special Education Programme (SPED) of DECS
was expanded to include the handicapped and gifted
children in the 20 SRA provinces. A survey of schoolage children with special needs was conducted in the
school divisions of Luzon. The survey showed that
11.6 percent of the population in the Luzon area had
special needs.

Strengthening of Health, Nutrition and Other

Allied Services
12.
Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of
Social Services (CIDSS)
The CIDSS was launched in 1994 to be the
governments flagship program under the SRA to
respond to the unmet minimum basic needs (MBN) of
poor families and communities nation-wide. CIDSS is
a convergence of social welfare, health, education,
early childhood care and development, and other
basic services based on MBN. As of June 1998, the
program has put up 1,089 day care centres nationwide.
13.
School-based Integrated Health and Nutrition
Campaign
In response to survey results indicating a high
incidence of malnutrition, dental and respiratory
illnesses among elementary pupils, the DECS
intensified its health and nutrition campaign in the
schools since 1995. Physical and dental examinations
were conducted among elementary pupils, including
Grade I entrants. De-worming of Grade I pupils in
selected schools in NCR and SRA provinces is now
annually conducted during National School Deworming Day. The School Feeding Program was also
revitalised.
In addition to the above, the DECS initiated the
annual Search for the Outstanding School
Implementor in the Integrated School Health and
Nutrition Programme as a mechanism to enhance the
campaign on the School-Based Integrated Health and
Nutrition Programme.
14.

Teacher-Child-Parent Approach

One of the innovative project components of the EFA

programme in the Philippines is the Teacher-Child-

Parent (TCP) Approach to strengthen health and

nutrition education at the elementary level. Its
selection was based mainly on the multivariate
analysis of the pilot implementation in the ABCSDP
areas and the 13 other criteria set by EFA. While in
traditional teaching, relevant information are
disseminated only to the child, the TCP approach
ensures that the concepts learned by the child are
relayed to the parents. Learning is reinforced by
activities in school and at home, thus promoting
congruency in the values learned by the child in the
school and what is practiced by parents at home.
15.

Early Childhood Development Project (ECDP)

Inter-agency collaboration, specifically among DECS, DSWD and

DOH as well as the LGUs, in the delivery of ECCD services is
further enhanced through the ECD Project, which is currently
being implemented in Regions VI, VII and XII. The ECDP is a 6year national plan covering the period 1998-2003, which outlines
the broad policy direction to be pursued by the government for
Filipino children from 0-6 years old. The project was formulated by
an inter-agency steering committee and technical working group
composed of representatives from the DECS, DSWD and the
DOH. DOH takes care of the health and nutrition concerns,
DSWD the psycho-social development of children from 3-6 years
old, and DECS provides early childhood educational experiences
to 6 year-olds through the Integration of Early Childhood
Experiences in Grade 1 initiative. This is a programme wherein
school experiences are provided during the eight weeks of the
school year. Grade 1 pupils undergo varied stimulating activities
that develop their social, motor and readiness skills before
formally starting Grade 1 work. The project was established in
1995-1996 because of the lowering of the Grade 1 entry-age to 6
years.
Socio-Cultural Adaptation of Curriculum, Materials &
Approaches
As mentioned previously, R.A. 7610 tasks DECS to develop and
institute an alternative system of education for children of
indigenous communities, which is culture-specific and is relevant

to the needs and existing situation in their communities. The rules

and regulations concerning children of indigenous cultural
communities also provide that, whenever practicable, the dialect
of the community be used as the medium of instruction.
A special project has been initiated for the development of
prototype ECCD materials that are culturally sensitive and
appropriate to their clienteles beliefs and practices. In particular,
the development of a module entitled "Home to School Transition
for Children of Cultural Communities: Aeta Maternal and Early
Childhood Development" has been undertaken.
Single Agency to Co-ordinate Programs for ECCD
The Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) created in 1974
and headed by the DSWD Secretary, is the governments premier
agency for childrens protection, welfare and development. CWC
is responsible for co-ordinating and monitoring the implementation
of all laws and programs for children, including the Philippine Plan
for Action for Children in the 90s (PPAC). There is at present a
pending Senate bill on ECCD that aims at strengthening the CWC
to function as the National ECCD Co-ordinating Council.
4. Philippine EFA Thrusts on Universal Quality Primary
Education
Enhancing the Holding Power of Schools
In support of this policy, DECS issued a number of directives to intensively
undertake specific interventions aimed at increasing the holding power of
schools.
1. DECS Order No. 24, s. 1995 called for definitive action to achieve
the education mid-decade goals and targets for both participation
and cohort survival rates:
2. The completion of incomplete elementary schools by organising
combination and/or multi-grade classes
3. The intensification of the balik-eskuwela (Back-toSchool) campaign, in which every elementary school must
retrieve at least 10 out-of-school children in its catchment area

4. The attainment of zero dropout rate for Grades V and VI

5. DECS Order No. 45, s. 1995, enjoined the various divisions to
select the best teachers for Grade I classes to ensure that Grade I
pupils will stay long enough in school to complete their elementary
schooling.
In addition, DECS implemented the Dropout Intervention Program
(DIP), which includes the provision of multi-level learning materials, parentteacher partnership, school feeding, and provision of school supplies for
selected pupil beneficiaries. DIP was piloted in SY 1990-1992 in 30 schools in
Regions IV, V, VI, VIII and XII. In later years, the program was expanded to
cover more schools and regions. Priority was given to provinces identified
under the Social Reform Agenda (SRA). Grade I children in disadvantaged
schools with high dropout rates benefited from the breakfast feeding
component of the program.
Using Alternative Teaching-Learning Delivery Modes
1. Multi-grade and Mobile Teaching.
The government has implemented and
institutionalised alternative modes of delivering
elementary education. Most notable among these is
the establishment of multi-grade classes combined
with mobile teaching. Multi-grade (MG) classes
consist of 30 to 40 pupils of two or more grade levels
handled by one teacher. In 1994, DECS, with funding
assistance from UNICEF trained national and regional
on MG Instruction as its initial step to institutionalise
the programme.
The UNDP-assisted Pupil Learning Enhancement
Program undertakes direct support to multi-grade
classes through the provision of supplementary pupil
learning materials and encourages community
support to the program. The project is focused on 4
selected provinces: Surigao del Sur, Zamboanga del
Sur, North Cotabato, and Negros Oriental.
A Multi-grade Demonstration School Project (MDSP)
has been established to improve the overall

performance of MG schools through the training of

teachers and school officials and the provision of
textbooks and instructional materials.
To further ensure the institutionalisation of the MG
programme DECS issued Department Order No. 96,
s. 1997 setting the policies and guidelines in the
organisation and operation of multigrade classes. As
of 1999, the multigrade teaching programme is being
implemented in all regions except the NCR.
2. Television as an Educational Delivery Tool
Using TV sets to teach science was introduced in the public elementary
schools in June 1995 through a program called Sineskwela. Produced by the
ABS-CBN Foundation, said show is designed to supplement the elementary
science curriculum. Hence, its viewing was made mandatory. Two more TV
programs which were started in 1997 are currently being aired over ABS-CBN,
namely: Hiraya Manawari, a fairy tale format program that injects values,
and Bayani, a show that teaches children the values of nationalism and
heroism by recounting the exploits of national heroes. The Continuing Science
Education via Television (CONSTEL) was also launched in 1995 to boost the
development of science awareness among Filipinos. DECS Order No. 53, s.
1996, enjoined the institutionalisation of the use of CONSTEL tapes in
elementary and secondary schools.
Strengthening Home-School Partnership
The following directives were issued with the objective of strengthening homeschool partnership:
1. DECS Order no. 126, s. 1990, calling for the national
implementation of the Parent Learning Support System (PLSS);
2. DECS Order No. 72, s. 1994, mandating the conduct of a
Peoples Day in the DECS Regional Offices, Division Offices and
District Offices as well as large schools (those with more than 100
teachers) every third Monday of the month, starting November
1994 from 8:30 to 12:00 as a special time for hearing the
problems and concerns of teachers, parents and the public in
general.

In 1996, school-community partnership was strengthened to fight the drug

menace and to promote various DECS programs on healthy environment.
Parent volunteer brigades were organised to provide service assistance to
schools.
DECS also conducted the first parents education forum in Manila in August
1997. Attended by 1,000 parents, the forum was intended to consult parents
regarding education directions and to solicit their participation in DECS
programs. DECS also stressed the need for a strong partnership between
DECS, parents and the community in the total education of their children.
In December 1997, DECS held the first national forum for parents, children
and educators in Cebu City with the theme "Parent-Child-Educator
Partnership: Action Agenda for Quality Education". One objective of the forum
was to strengthen parent-educator partnership through the organisation of a
national federation of Parent-Teacher-Community Association.
1. DECS sa Barangay (DECS in the Barangay)
Programme
Launched in 1996, this program is being implemented
at the barangay level with focus on the rural
communities. The aim is to establish operational
linkages with line agencies, local government units,
local development councils and inter-sectoral
consultative councils organised in every barangay.
The specific objectives of the Program are to increase
literacy rate, achievement rate and participation rate;
decrease dropout rate; provide all barangays and
remote sitios with adequate school facilities like
books, desks, blackboards, classrooms and toilets;
and makebarangay schools as learning centres or
community centres of educational information.
Emphasis on Higher-Level Thinking Skills
2. Longer School Calendar and Increased Learning
Time for Selected Subjects
In 1992, the elementary curriculum was reviewed to
identify areas for improvement in the short-term. As a
result, the school calendar was lengthened from 185

to 200 days beginning in 1993. In addition, the daily

student contact hours for critical subjects were
increased. . In particular, learning time has been
increased in English in Grades I and II from 60 to 80
hours; and Mathematics in Grades I to III from 40 to
60 minutes. Science and Health was introduced in
Grades I and II and given a time allotment of 40
minutes. Significantly, the above-mentioned strategy
was institutionalised by Congress through the
passage of Republic Act No. 7797 in 1994.
3. Leadership Enhancement for Effective Results
Project
This research project was undertaken with the end in
view of developing higher thinking skills among pupils.
Orientation on the strategies in developing higher
level thinking skills among children and on the use of
the micro-teaching episodes in Sibika at Kultura at
Heograpiya, Kasaysayan at Sining (HEKASI) or
Civics & Culture and Geography, History & Science
for Grade I-VI served as springboard toward the
attainment of the objective of said study. The microteaching episodes were tried out in selected divisions.
Upgrading Teacher Competencies
4. In-service Training through Learning Action Cells
In-service trainings in the different learning areas
were conducted on a regular basis in the division and
regional levels. District and school learning action cell
(LAC) sessions were held to continuously improve the
teachers managerial and instructional skills.
5. Search for Most Effective Schools
The search for the most effective public elementary and secondary schools
has contributed to enhancing the capabilities of administrators and teachers in
the school system. Criteria used are (1) highly motivated learners; (2)
competent and highly committed teachers; (3) capable and dynamic

managers; (4) adequate and wholesome learning environment; (5)

harmonious school-parent-community relationships.
1. Philippine EFA Thrusts on Alternative Learning Systems
The PPA subsumed the twin components of Eradication of
Illiteracy (EOI) and Continuing Education and Development (CED)
under an umbrella programme of innovation dubbed
as Strengthening of Alternative Learning System (ALS). In the
1991 Jomtien Conference, this was recognised as the Philippines
unique contribution or approach to the global EFA Movements
ultimate objective of reaching out to those who have either been
deprived of formal basic education or those who choose not to
acquire their basic learning needs from the conventional learning
or school system.
Eradication of Illiteracy
1. Eradication of Illiteracy in Selected Areas (EISA)
A research and development project that addressed
the low literacy levels among out-of-school youths,
adults, women and girls 13 years and over in
marginalized communities, which constrain attainment
of personal development and participation in
community development. The project also looked into
solutions to the difficulty in identifying, locating and
monitoring the learning progress of literacy clientele.
2. Parent Education and Female Functional Literacy
An expansion to five provinces of a similar one that
was being implemented in 1990 in seven Area-Based
Child Survival and Development (ABCSD) provinces.
In these areas, as in the expansion sites, women and
girls were more disadvantaged in terms of literacy
than their male counterparts. The literacy intervention
was expected to result in improved status of women
in the community; increased participation in
community development projects; and in the
capability of women and parents to improve family life
and conditions.

Promotion of Continuing Education &

Development
3. Media Advocacy of Values and Informal Education
A deliberate attempt to maximise the positive role of
media in the formation of values and consciousness,
this initiative advocated themes and issues that
enhance consciousness of the dignity of human life,
mans responsibilities towards his fellowmen and his
role as steward of society and the environment. Media
advocacy was to reach children and adults nationwide
via television, radio and print.
4. Science for the Masses
This national project was conceived to be a principal
vehicle for attaining scientific and cultural literacy
among Filipinos. The targets are OSY, adults,
students in formal schools and clientele of the
alternative learning systems. They were to be reached
via a network of science and technology museums
and centrums, science communication through the
intensification of science broadcasts (TV and radio)
and publication of research and development outputs.
5. Production of Indigenous Teaching Materials and
Training on Productivity Enhancement of Economic
Projects (PEEP) for Barangay Folks
The PEEP effort addressed the dearth of materials
relating to productivity, production culture, selfdevelopment, decision-making, appropriate
technology and other basic life skills that hamper
education and training for economic productivity in the
rural areas. It aimed to produce and disseminate
modules on various life skill areas and train 950,000
rural and urban poor women in all regions using these
indigenous learning materials.
Implementation of Integrated Programmes

6. Programme for the Development of Alternative

Learning Systems
Another R & D project that sought to establish a
stream of learning encompassing non-formal and
informal education, to run parallel to the formal or
school-based learning system. If the study confirmed
the feasibility of this project, it would have been used
as basis for future legislation enabling individuals to
broaden their access to learning opportunities.
7. National Distance Learning for Out-of-School Youths
and Neo-Literate Women
This project, which was piloted in selected
communities, rested on a learner or demand-oriented
participatory and culture-based learning system
founded on a multi-media channel approach to
message delivery. The design called for the use of
radio and instructional modules as main channels; the
others being audiocassettes, comic books, folk media
and other indigenous channels. There was also a
linkage to entrepreneurship agencies and a provision
for access to livelihood seed funding.
8. Integrated Community Based Continuing Education
for Depressed, Disadvantaged and Underserved
(DDU) Communities
An extension of the experience of an earlier project of the
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the
Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO)
to 100 identified communities. Successfully tried out in four lowincome villages in Luzon, this undertaking aimed to provide
training programmes designed to improve the cognitive and
practical skills of the villagers. Another objective was to enable the
clients to conduct sustainable income-generating and other social
development projects. These learning programmes were
supported by a viable multi-purpose social cooperative and other
village-based organisations, which were set up through the primer
funds provided by the project. There was a built-in mechanism to
replicate the project in other depressed communities in future.

2. Plans for Implementation of EFA Management Policies and

Structures
The PPA provided for an implementation mechanism to handle EFA concerns
consisting of national, regional and local level policy-making units. These were
to be supported by attached technical and administrative secretariats at each
level. There was also a provision for the establishment of national-level
programme management team to take care of overall co-ordination and
routine implementation. The EFA implementing machinery as envisioned in
the PPA is shown below in Figure I-11.
Figure -3: EFA Implementation Mechanism per PPA

The National Machinery

The National Committee on Education for All (NCEFA) created through
Presidential Proclamation No. 480 as the apex of the EFA programme
hierarchy, was EFAs policy-making body. It was to have been assisted by a
National Technical Secretariat (NTS) as its technical and administrative arm.
The NTS was to have been subsequently expanded to include representatives
from agencies involved in early childhood care and development, primary
education, literacy and continuing education as well as selected
representatives of some member agencies of the National Committee.
Programme Implementation

A full-time Programme Management Team (PMT) responsible for overall coordination and day-to-day operations was supposed to backstop the NTS. The
planned structure, organisation and staffing of the PMT are shown in Figure I12.
Figure -4: EFA Programme Management Teams per PPA

As originally envisioned, the internal structure of the PMT was patterned after
the four major clusters of projects of the PPA. A technical group was to be
assigned to each cluster, namely: ECCD/UQPE, EOI/CED; INTPRO (for
integrated programmes); and Programme Support. In addition to overseeing
the project implementation in each cluster, the technical group would have
also overseen the overall implementation of the projects in the Regional
Action Plans, as well as the co-ordination with a number of regions. Those
who were involved in the formulation of the National and Regional Action
Plans were to be initially tasked to man the PMT. The main purpose for this
action was to sustain the momentum generated during the formulation of the
National and Regional Action Plans and to prepare for the institutionalisation
of EFA concerns within the DECS. Thereafter, the PMT functions were to be
institutionalised within the Office of Planning Service (OPS) of the DECS.
Interagency support was supposed to have been maintained through the NTS.
The Regional Machinery
The above policy and operational set-up was supposed to have been
replicated for regional operations. Regional Committees on Education for All
(RCEFAs) were to complement the NCEFA in policy-making and programme
review and were to be composed of the heads of regional offices of the

agencies represented in the NCEFA minus the international agencies and the
Department of Foreign Affairs. Most would have included additional or other
agencies and NGOs of their choice. The RCEFAs were to have their
counterparts in the sub-regional levels (i.e., Provincial Committees on EFA
(PCEFAs), and City/Municipality Committees on EFA (C/MCEFAs). These
regional/sub-regional committees were to have been strengthened as
specialised bodies of the Regional Development Councils (RDCs) and the
local development councils.
Programme Monitoring
National and regional monitoring and evaluation (M & E) units were to have
been established at the PMT and RCEFA-TS to obtain timely information on
the progress of EFA implementation and to identify bottlenecks requiring
remedial action. This M & E system would also have supported the regular
review of EFA policies and guidelines. The regular flow of monitoring reports
was to be achieved through both vertical and horizontal networks.
Plan Revisions
The PPA further provided for the conduct of a midterm review and updating of
the PPA, in which new policies, strategies, programmes and projects in
response to gaps not met by the initial set of projects would have been
considered. This activity was also supposed to have included deliberations on
the possibility of upgrading lower priority projects to high priority levels.
Advocacy & Social Mobilisation
A social mobilisation and advocacy programme (SMAP) was included in the
PPA as one of the strategies through which the EFA goals were to be
achieved. Its role was to stimulate, expand and sustain action toward the
achievement of the movements objectives. Specifically, the SMAP was
supposed to create awareness and acceptance of EFA, establish a
communication loop between planners and implementers and provide
technical support to the preparation of social mobilisation materials. To
operationalise the SMAP, the PPA envisioned the creation by the
NCEFA/NTS, through the PMT, of a national core of resource agencies and
individuals that would provide technical assistance in the planning and design
of specific SMAP activities. The planned SMAP network would have paralleled
that of the M & E system.
http://www.unesco.org/education/wef/countryreports/philippines/rapport_1_1.html

KEY ISSUES IN PHILIPPINE EDUCATION

Literacy rate in the Philippines has improved a lot over the last few years- from
72 percent in 1960 to 94 percent in 1990. This is attributed to the increase in
both the number of schools built and the level of enrollment in these schools.
The number of schools grew rapidly in all three levels - elementary, secondary,
and tertiary. From the mid-1960s up to the early 1990, there was an increase of
58 percent in the elementary schools and 362 percent in the tertiary schools.
For the same period, enrollment in all three levels also rose by 120 percent.
More than 90 percent of the elementary schools and 60 percent of the
secondary schools are publicly owned. However, only 28 percent of the tertiary
schools are publicly owned.
A big percentage of tertiary-level students enroll in and finish commerce and
business management courses. Table 1 shows the distribution of courses taken,
based on School Year 1990-1991. Note that the difference between the number
of enrollees in the commerce and business courses and in the engineering and
technology courses may be small - 29.2 percent for commerce and business and
20.3 percent for engineering and technology. However, the gap widens in terms
of the number of graduates for the said courses.
TABLE 1: TERTIARY ENROLLMENT AND
GRADUATION BY FIELD OF STUDY. SY 1990-1991
FIELD OF STUDY

ENROLLMENT GRADUATION
No.

No.

Arts and Sciences

196,711

14.6

29,961

13.6

Teacher Training &

Education

242,828

18.0

34,279

15.5

Engineering &
Technology

273,408

20.3

32,402

14.7

Medical and Health related Programs

176,252

13.1

34,868

15.8

Commerce/Business
Management

392,958

29.2

79,827

36.1

43,458

3.2

7,390

3.3

Agriculture, Forestry,
Fishery,

and Veterinary Medicine

Law

20,405

1.5

2,111

1.0

Religion / Theology

1,695

0.1

209

0.1

TOTAL

1,347,715 100.0 221,047

100.0

On gender distribution, female students have very high representation in all

three levels. At the elementary level, male and female students are almost
equally represented. But female enrollment exceeds that of the male at the
secondary and tertiary levels . Also, boys have higher rates of failures,
dropouts, and repetition in both elementary and secondary levels.
Aside from the numbers presented above, which are impressive, there is also a
need to look closely and resolve the following important issues: 1) quality of
education 2) affordability of education 3) goverment budget for education;
and 4) education mismatch.
1. Quality - There was a decline in the quality of the Philippine
education, especially at the elementary and secondary levels. For
example, the results of standard tests conducted among elementary
and high school students, as well as in the National College of
Entrance Examination for college students, were way below the target
mean score.
2. Affordability - There is also a big disparity in educational
achievements across social groups. For example, the
socioeconomically disadvantaged students have higher dropout rates,
especially in the elementary level. And most of the freshmen students
at the tertiary level come from relatively well-off families.
3. Budget - The Philippine Constitution has mandated the goverment to
allocate the highest proportion of its budget to education. However,
the Philippines still has one of the lowest budget allocations to
education among the ASEANcountries.
4. Mismatch - There is a large proportion of "mismatch" between
training and actual jobs. This is the major problem at the tertiary level
and it is also the cause of the existence of a large group of educated
unemployed or underemployed.
The following are some of the reforms proposed:
1. Upgrade the teachers' salary scale. Teachers have been underpaid; thus
there is very little incentive for most of them to take up advanced

trainings.
2. Amend the current system of budgeting for education across regions,
which is based on participation rates and units costs. This clearly
favors the more developed regions. There is a need to provide more
allocation to lagging regions to narrow the disparity across regions.
3. Stop the current practice of subsidizing state universities and colleges
to enhance access. This may not be the best way to promote equity. An
expanded scholarship program, giving more focus and priority to the
poor, maybe more equitable.
4. Get all the leaders in business and industry to become actively
involved in higher education; this is aimed at addressing the mismatch
problem. In addition, carry out a selective admission policy, i.e.,
installing mechanisms to reduce enrollment in oversubscribed courses
and promoting enrollment in undersubscribed ones.
5. Develop a rationalized apprenticeship program with heavy inputs from
the private sector. Furthermore, transfer the control of technical
training to industry groups which are more attuned to the needs of
business and industry.

The Philippine Education System at a Glance

4. The Philippine education system can be described as a dynamic one. It has undergone
several stages of development from the pre-Spanish era to the present. Dating back at the
pre-Magellanic period, the Philippine education was informal, unstructured and without
method. Learning was more experimental than theoretical.
5. During the Spanish era, education was done by missionaries for the elite and for religious
instruction. The enactment of Education Decree of 1863 marked the beginning of primary
education for boys and girls in each municipality and a normal school for male teachers.
Primary instruction was free and Spanish instruction was compulsory. Education was
inadequate, suppressed and controlled during that period. When the Americans came, they
established a free public school system. Instruction was done in English to train people for
the duties of citizenship and democracy, by non-commissioned officers and chaplains.
6. Act No. 74 in 1901, which centralized public school, created a heavy shortage of teachers
and marked the arrival of Thomasites or teachers coming from USA, to teach in the
Philippines. The arrival of the Japanese made the teaching of Tagalog, Philippine History and
character education reserved for Filipinos. Love for work and dignity of labor was
emphasized. The issuance of Executive Order No. 94 in 1947 changed the Department of
Instruction to Department of Education. the regulation and supervision of public and private
schools was made with the establishments of regional officials. Then in 1972, it became the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports via Proclamation 1081 and then later the

Ministry of Education and Culture in 1978 due to issuance of PD 1397. Major organization
was implemented with the establishment of 13 regional offices.
7. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports was created via Education Act 0f 1982,
which later became the Department of Education, Culture and Sports by virtue of Executive
Order 117 in 1987. The structure of DECS remained unchanged until 1994 when the CHED,
and in 1995, when TESDA were established, to supervise tertiary degree programs and nondegree technical-vocational programs, via RAs 7722 and 7796, respectively.
8. The Educational Ladder
9. The Philippine Education delivered its programs through the formal and non-formal and
informal ways. The new entry age for elementary education, starting SY 1995-96 was 6
years old; the secondary education, 12- 15 years old; and tertiary education, 16-19 years old.
The formal education ladder has 6-4-4 structure, or 6 years for elementary education; 4
years, secondary; and 4 years for tertiary education, except for some courses like
engineering, law, medical sciences with 5 or more years of schooling. Pre-school education
is optional. Some private schools offer seven years of elementary education, while others
require pre-school or kindergarten education.
10. Non-formal education is an alternative system that is focused on OSY and OSA. Its main
thrust is on literacy education and training for employable and/or productive skills, coupled
with citizenship training.
11. Philosophy of Education The philosophy states that education shall develop citizen who
believe in God, love their country and fellowmen and actively participate in building a just
Filipino society and conserving and developing the nations human and material resources.
12. Vision of Philippine Education The vision can be quoted as We have seen the Filipino
nation of the future in the best of the Filipino today. Nurturing, enhancing and articulating the
best in us are the central tasks of education.
13. Aims of Education Education shall aim in the fullest potentials of all individuals, the only
sure way of achieving our common and shared national goals. It should develop all socially
valuable talents of persons as its contribution to building an adhesive, peaceful and
progressive society. From this educational experience, students are expected to emerge as
respected and valued participants in the global community because of their world class
experience and excellence in ability.
14. Mission of Education Basic education intends to provide universal access to quality and
relevant education through formal, informal and non- formal channels. It shall develop in the
young Filipino, including the disadvantage groups of children with special needs and
extremely difficult circumstances, the knowledge, the skills and attitude necessary for active
and successful participation in the economic, political, socio-cultural, spiritual and moral life
in just and humane society.
15. Mandates The mandates of the Philippine education can be gleaned from the Education
Act of 1982; the 1987 Philippine Constitution; and Executive Order No. 117. Education Act of
1982 mandates that the education system to (i) provide for a broad general education that
will assist each individual in the peculiar ecology of his own society to (a) attain his potential
as a human being, (b) enhance the range and quality of individual and group participation in

the basic functions of society, and (c) acquire the essential educational foundation of his
development into a productive and versatile citizen; (ii) to train the nation manpower in the
middle level skills required for national development; (iii) develop the profession that will
provide leadership for the nation in the advancement of knowledge for improving quality of
human life; and (iv) respond effectively to changing needs and conditions of the nation
through a system of educational planning and evaluation.
16. The 1987 Philippine Constitution explicitly provides in Art. XIV, Sec. 1, stating that the
State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and
shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all. The Executive Order
No. 117, S. 1987, identifies that DECS to become primary responsible in the formulation,
planning, implementing and coordinating the policies, plans, programs, and projects in the
areas of formal and non-formal education in all levels, be it elementary, secondary, tertiary,
technical-vocational, non-formal, sports and culture; supervise all educational institutions,
both public and private and provide for the establishment and maintenance of a complete,
adequate and integrated system of education relevant to the goals of national development.
17. Organic and Management Structure of DECS The DECS is divided into two major
structural components: the central office and field offices. The central office has five (5)
service units, namely: (i) planning; (ii) financial management; (iii) administrative; (iv) Human
Resource Development; and (v) technical services. It has four (4) bureaus, namely: (i)
Bureau of Elementary Education; (ii) Bureau of Secondary Education; (iii) Bureau of NonFormal Education; and (iv) Bureau of Physical Education and Sports. Its five (5) centers are
identified as (i) School Health and Nutrition Center; (ii) National Education Testing and
Research Center; (iii) Educational Development Projects Implementing Task Force; (iv)
National Educators Academy of the Philippines; and (v) DECS Learning Materials Center.
18. Cultural agencies attached to DECS are the (i) National Museum; (ii) National Library; (iii)
National Historical Institute; (iv) Record Management and Achievers Office; and (v) the
Commission on Philippine Languages. The field office consisted of regional and sub-regional
offices. The regional offices numbering 16, including the ARMM is headed each by a regional
director; a regional secretary for ARMM; 134 provincial and city school divisions, each
headed by a school superintendent; and 2,128 school districts, each headed by a district
supervisor. As of 1996-97, the 46,644 schools established nationwide are categorized as
36,640 elementary schools; 6,411 secondary schools; 1,276 post secondary schools; and
1,287 higher education institutions (HEIs). Of the 46,644 schools, 39,154 are government
schools; and 7,490, private schools.
19. Problems of Philippine Education Ever since the Philippine education system was
established, problems were always part of its operation. The problems besetting the
modernized education system are those that pertain to (i) access to basic education, (ii)
quality of basic education, (iii) weaknesses and/or ailments of the public school system, and
(iv) underinvestment in education.
20. Access to Basic Education In 1992, there were 12,956 or 30 percent of 43,302
barangays without elementary schools and only 11,800 or 35 percent of 34,081 existing
elementary schools offer only primary education. Seventy five (75) or 4.9 percent of 1,537
municipalities were without either public or private high school; 175 or 11.4 percent

municipalities were without public high school. in 1990, participation rate among the 7-12
years old was 82.9 percent only. This translates to 1.5 million school-aged children who are
outside the formal school system; and about 4 million of the 45,447 million population, 10
years old and above were illiterates.
21. Quality of Basic Education The quality of basic education has been immensely affected
by these inadequacies in terms of (i) school buildings, teachers, instructional materials and
equipment have not been fully provided in schools; (ii) achievement levels in elementary and
secondary education fall below standard. The possible causes of poor quality of education
are traceable to: (a) reduction in the contact hours for academic subjects under the new
elementary and secondary curricula; (b) poor quality of instruction owing to the poor student
input to teachers education program; (c) pedagogical processes or student-teacher
interaction in classroom is generally characterized by one way flow where teachers delivers
the lesson; (d) unqualified teachers to teach subjects outside their areas of specialization;
and (e) centralized system of academic supervision and management discourages
innovations and initiatives at the school level.
22. Weaknesses/Ailments of the Public School System According to EDCOM Report (Making
Education Work, 1992), the quality of the Philippine education is continuously declining in
terms of basic education failure to (i) teach the competence the average citizens need to
become responsible, productive and self-fulfilling; (ii) colleges and technical and vocational
schools are not producing the manpower we need to develop our economy; and (iii) graduate
education is mediocre and failed to generate the research-based knowledge we need to
create more job and raise value of production. This decline has been attributed to a number
of causes, namely: (i) low budget, high enrollment; (ii) shortage of teachers; (iii) shortage of
classrooms; and (iv) shortage of textbook.
23. Low budget, high enrollment. For SY 1999-2000, DECS budget was P83.35 billion or 18
percent of the national budget. Although budgetary priorities was given to education sector,
such budgetary increases in the last few years were not enough to address the influx or
blotting enrollment in the basic education levels. In SY 1989-90, enrollment for the public
schools has increased by 22 percent while enrollment in the private school has gone down,
indicating that more parents were enrolling their children in public schools. This implies that
the government should totally support the free basic education.
24. As per DECS estimate, the government would spend an average of P4, 753 for every
public elementary or secondary students. This amount would cover more P74 billion of
DECS budget and less amount to meet fund requirements to cover shortages for teachers,
textbooks and classrooms. Shortage of teachers. Since the beginning of 1990, the number of
public school teachers has decreased 13 percent from about 372,000 in 1989-1990 to about
328,000 this year. This is in direct contrast to the growing enrollment in public schools this
decade.
25. In the last four years, there was an average of more than 30,000 vacant teaching position
in public schools. This school year (SY 1999-2000), at least 19,000 additional teachers are
needed to meet the enrollment requirements in elementary and secondary levels. To address
this gap, an amount at P1.86 billion is needed to cover shortages at the end of the year,
according to DECS. The acute shortage is forcing some mentors to handle two or more

grade levels. Latest available data shown that almost 20,500 teachers handle multigrade
classes. Public high school teachers are focused to handle a maximum of nine academic
subjects. This situation not only drains the energy of teachers, but also affects the learning
process of their students. Teachers with excess load naturally tend to relax or rest at some
points because of stress and fatigue.
26. Shortage of textbook. On the average, seven students share the use of textbook in each
of their subject. in order to achieve an ideal of 1:1 textbook to student ratio, the government
needs at least 92.8 million new book. Today, the number of books available in the system is
more or less 18.28 million. This translates to roughly P5 billion since the average cost per
book is pegged at P70.00. If the government seeks to achieve a 1:1 student to textbook ratio
before 2004, an appropriation of P2.5 billion which must increase annually by P500 million
should be infused to the system beginning this year. This is almost impossible as the
government has yet to release the P850 million for textbooks two years ago.
27. Classroom shortage and more. Instead of decreasing classroom shortage, the past three
school years witnessed an increasing demand for classrooms. From 1996 to 1998,
classroom shortage has grown an alarming 63 percent. This implies that old school building
are rapidly deteriorating while the government is not providing new ones. According to DECS
estimates, at least 21,500 new classrooms are needed to accomplish this years enrollment
for the first two levels. Such classroom shortage translates to P6.6 billion since P305,000 is
needed to build new classroom. But again the problem is where to source the needed funds.
The situation is even worse in some remote areas. There are 11,420 elementary schools in
the country without toilets. There are also 12,956 barangays that do not have a single
elementary schools, while about 13 municipalities in four regions do not have public or
private schools.
28. Underinvestment in education. This is a perennial problem that is besetting the education
system. This situation has been brought about by (i) increase in the education budget from
1986 to 1989 was not sustained in the succeeding threeyear period; (ii) real per capita
expenditures declined starting in 1990; (iii) the growth in the universal size of the education
budget was attributed to the growth of salary input which account for about 80 percent of the
total education expenditures; and (iv0 due to lack of funds, the education sector has failed to
take advantage of recent technological advances. Computers are practically non-existent in
public schools.
29. Trends, Issues and Policies Improving Access to and Quality of Basic Education
30. Establishment of schools. In accordance with the Constitution mandate to make the basic
education accessible to all, DECS adopted a priority program of establishing elementary
schools in barangay without elementary schools and the establishments of high schools in
municipalities without high schools. Between 1992 and 1996, the number of rural barangays
without elementary schools was reduced from 6,019 to 4,231; while the number of
incomplete elementary schools was reduced from 6,139 to 2,569. At present, out of the 75
municipalities without public or private high school in 1992, only 26 municipalities remain
without a secondary school.
31. Creating item position for teacher. From 1992 to 1997, a total of 50,858 items were
provided to address the problem of teacher shortage. In SY 1997- 98, teachers requirement

stood at 11,670 to meet enrollment increases. With 7,000 new teaching position authorized
in 1997, a backlog of 4,674 teachers remained.
32. Social Reform Agenda (SRA). The SRA is a package of intentions that Philippine
Government is implementing to improve the welfare of the disadvantage groups and facilitate
their early integration into the political and economic mainstream. It consists of (i) access to
quality basic education, (ii) asset reforms and sustainable development of productive
resources and access to economic opportunities. DECS is the local agency to work towards
the fulfillment of 15 basic reform commitments in collaboration with local government. Under
the 1996 Poverty Alleviation Fund, 2,240 nurse items were provided for deployment to the
SRA provinces.
33. Entry age for grade 1 and national school enrollment day. Starting SY 1995-96, the entry
age for grade 1 was reduced from 7 to 6 years old, thus increasing the number entering
grade 1 pupils. To enable DECS adequate time to plan effectively for teaching assignment,
classrooms and textbooks, an early enrollment day for entering grade 1 pupils is adopted.
The National School Enrollment Day is held on the last Monday of January for every year.
34. Education for All (EFA). The four goals of EFA Plan of Action are (i) early childhood care
and development; (ii) universalization of quality primary education; (iii) continuing education;
and (iv) eradication of illiteracy. Alternative non-formal education delivery schemes were
developed and implemented for selected cultural communities.
35. Non-Formal Education (NFE). This scheme aims to raise the literacy and numeracy skills
of the poor to enhance their capacity to engage in self-help and community development
activities. It seeks to expand access to basic education by establishing an NFE equivalency
and accreditation system and alternative learning program to serve community with high
drop- outs and low participation rate. The activities of NFE are focused on literacy classes
and skills development.
36. Multigrade (MG). The multigrade schooling program was implemented via provision of
MG instructional package, training of teachers and supervisors and monitoring and
evaluation of program implementation.
37. Third Elementary Education Project (TEEP). This project is now being implemented in 14
of the 26 provinces identified as part of the SRA. Its objectives are threefold, namely: (i) to
improve learning achievement, completion rates and access to quality elementary education;
(ii) build the institutional capacity of DECS to manage change; and (iii) actively involve the
community and the local government in educational programs.
38. The TEEP begins with capacity building program at the provincial and divisional levels to
equip local DECS officials with skills to implement decentralized education administration
and school empowerment. This is followed by the formulation of DEDP, a work and financial
program which identified activities or an intervention to be done by stakeholders (PTAs, SAs,
NGOs and LGUs). Financial assistance is provided by TEEP once work program is
approved. DEDPs consists of several interventions like INSET for stakeholder participants,
school improvements and innovation of facilities (SIIF) and the school building program
(SBP) involving LGUs. The TEEP has a budget consisting P16.9 billion or $569.4 million.
39. SEDP. This was an ADB funded secondary education project completed in 1955. It
provided a total of 675 school buildings and furniture packages to various high schools

nationwide and distributed 32.69 million copies of textbook and instructional materials.
Another project is underway, SEDIP. This project is seen as single intervention in the 10-year
basic education cycle covering secondary education in disadvantaged provinces.
40. Lengthening of school days. The number of school days was increased from 185 to not
more than 220 days. Science was reintroduced as a subject in Grades I and II. Contact hours
were increased in English, Science and Math subjects for the elementary level; and English
and Science subjects for high school levels. The replacement of Values Education in the third
and fourth year with English, Math and Natural Science subjects was permitted to private
schools.
41. Regional science high school and new science curriculum. Science and Technology (ST)
were given emphasis via establishment of regional science high school in each of the 16
regions. New science curriculum has been developed by DECS, which was initially
implemented in five national high schools. The curriculum for the first year through fourth
year would concentrate on academic subjects in science, while fourth year curriculum would
focus on hands-on training in instructional and agricultural science.
42. National Elementary Achievement Test (NEAT)/National Secondary Achievement Test
(NSAT). The NEAT was administered beginning SY 1993-94; and the NSAT was conducted
starting SY 1994-95.
43. The Ten Year Master Plan for Basic Education (1996-2005). This ten-year master plan
was anchored on a policy of decentralization and modernization of the basic education. An
initial step towards the modernization thrust was the setting up of a Center for Education and
Technology (CET) at the DECS central office in June, 1996. The functions of the CET revolve
around the review and development of multi-media instructional materials, curriculum
development using multi- media and conducting training programs. A model School of the
Future (SOF) was set up at the CET. The SOF is different from a typical high school in terms
of the use of more instructional interventions using multi-media technology and the shift in
the role of teachers from provider of information to facilitator of learning.
44. Pre-school program. This program aims to provide 5-year old children in disadvantaged
areas time for early peer socialization and learning activities before starting Grade I. The
program on early childhood experience was integrated in Grade I curriculum. The first eight
weeks are spent on games, songs, exercises, and play activities to make children feel that
school can be pleasant and enjoyable. The regular Grade I curriculum starts on the 9th of the
week. Teachers assigned to the program were trained on the use of ECE instructional
materials.
45. Drop-out intervention program. These interventions employed in this program include the
provision of multi-level learning materials, parent-teachers partnership, school feeding,
provision of school supplies for selected pupil beneficiaries in order to reduce drop-out and
improve achievement in elementary schools.
46. Educational testing. To facilitate the re- entry of OSY to the formal school system, DECS
administers the Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) every year. The examination
is designed to assess the knowledge, skills and work experience of OSY and averaged youth
in school and to determine their appropriate level in the formal system.

47. Project Basic Education (PROBE), Leadership Enhancement for Effective Results
(LEADER), and Accelerated Learning Program for Elementary School (ALPES). PROBE was
aimed at improving the English comprehension among elementary and high school students
and to enhance education in grades V and VI; and in the 1st and 2nd year high school;
LEADER was initiated to develop higher levels of learning skills among pupils in Sibika at
Kultura/Heograpiya/Kasaysayan; and ALPES provides that public elementary school pupils
are promoted to the next level if they pass the ALPES examination showing that they are too
intelligent to remain in their respective school levels.
48. Physical Education and School Sports and Health and Nutrition. The Bureau of Physical
Education and School Sports would produce books and audio-visual materials for physical
education teachers. To complement the use of these materials, the Bureau conducts training
for P.E. teachers, coaches and trainers; and health and nutrition revitalized the school
feeding program to improve the nutritional status of school children via provision of safe,
cheap and nutritious food in the school canteen. Proceeds are to be used to purchase
foodstuffs for supplementary feeding of undernourished and indigent pupils.
49. Lingua franca education project. DECS Secretary Andrew Gonzales announced that this
Lingua Franca Education Project will replace English with Filipino and three other major
dialects as a medium of instruction in elementary schools, starting June, 1999-2000. The
project aims to probe a theory that pupils learn faster when the subjects are taught in the
vernacular or native tongue. When pupils move on to Grade II and IV, they would be taught in
Filipino, except when the subject is English. In Grades V and VI, all subjects will be taught in
Filipino except in Math, Science and English classes.
50. Decentralization of Educational Management A recent policy of the DECS is the
empowerment of school principals. Substantive decision making powers are vested in the
school head to provide him/her with more administrative authority and corresponding
accountability for improving teaching competencies and raising pupil achievements. Plantilla
items of teachers who are designated officer-in-charge or teacher-in-charge of schools are
upgraded to become plantilla items of school principals in the said school. Computer-based
information systems have been developed for use in the regional offices, division offices and
schools.
51. Region-focused educators congresses were held beginning 1995 for the Visayas and
Mindanao areas, followed by Luzon and NCR areas in 1996. These congresses were
conducted to enhance regional participation in the development plans and programs.
52. Implementing Legislated Educational Programs In accordance with the recommendations
of the Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM) to restructure DECS, two
separate bodies to oversee tertiary education and technical and vocational education were
created, allowing DECS to concentrate on basic education. The Commission on Higher
Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority were
created through RA 7722 and RA 7796, respectively, have become independent entities from
DECS.
53. RA 7836 enacted in 1994 provides for the regulation and supervision of the practice of
teaching in the Philippines and prescribing a licensure examination for teachers. RA 8047
known as the Book Publishing Industry Development Act was passed in June 1995. It

provides for the formulation, adoption and implementation of a National Book Policy and a
corresponding Book Development Plan that will serve as basis for postering the growth and
viability of the book publishing industry and secondary textbook production and distribution
functions.
54. Deregulation of Private Education DECS liberalized government policies governing
private education to capitalize on inherent advantages of private schools. Among the
initiatives were the deregulation of tuition fees charged by private educational institutions
which are now subject only to the consultation and other requirements mandated by law; the
lifting on the moratorium on the offering of new programs; and the issuance of new Manuals
for Regulations for Private Schools. Additionally, voluntary accreditation by non- government
accrediting agencies was strongly encouraged as a means of improving educational
standard over and above the maximum required for recognition.
55. Outcomes and Effects of Policies and Programs The outcomes and effects of the policies
and programs implemented can be cited as (i) enrollment; (ii) provision of educational
supplies and improvement of physical facilities; (iii) expansion of literacy programs; (iv)
pupils/students performance in NEAT/NSAT Test; (v) increased pay of public school teachers
and provision of other benefits; and (vi) identification of critical areas for priority attention.
56. Enrollment Enrollment increased from 15.1 million in SY 1992-93 to 17.14 million in
1997-98 in both elementary and secondary schools; participation rate in the elementary level
rose from 85.16 percent in SY 1992-93 to 95.09 percent in SY 1997-98; and from 56.76
percent to 64.72 percent in the secondary level. With this, the cohort survival rate has
increased from 68.36 percent to 73.73 percent over the six-year period.
57. Educational Supplies and Physical Facilities Books, audio-visual aids and materials were
provided in schools, particularly in the remote areas. In terms of classrooms, 100, 752 were
constructed in SY 1992-97 regular school building program, the Presidents Social Fund,
secondary education development project and the Japan International Corporation Agency.
58. Literacy Program Literacy rate has improved with the expansion of non-formal education
program and adoption of various alternative learning systems. The 1989 Functional Literacy
Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) has reported the sample literacy rate rose to
89.90 percent to 93.90 percent in 1994. Functional literacy rate has increased from 75.24
percent in 1989 to 83.8 percent in 1994. Simple literacy rate refers to ability to read and write
messages; while functional literacy requires mathematical and comprehension skills.
59. NEAT and NSAT Performance The result of NEAT in 1993-1996 indicated that the
average achievement level of Grade VI pupils was 76.66 percent or 1.66 percent more than
the desired of 75 percent. At the secondary level, the NSAT revealed a better performance in
terms of an aggregate score of 79.08 percent in 1994 which increased to 81.59 percent in
1995. By subject area basis, starting in 1993, 59.56 percent of the NEAT examinees scored
75 percent and above in English and this rating remained constant up to 1995; in Math,
53.10 percent rated 25 percent and above and subsequently reaching 68.17 percent in 1995;
in Science, the performance has improved from 67.96 percent in 1993 to 73.76 in 1995; and
HEKASI, from 46.56 percent in 1993 to 73.38 percent in 1995.
60. In 1994, 85.44 percent of the NSAT examinees got 75 percent and above in English and
rose to 93.90 percent in 1996; Mathematics, 70.43 percent in 1994 to 84.53 percent in 1996;

in Science, 71.65 percent of examinees rated 75 percent and above which improved to 83.21
percent in 1996; and in Filipino, from 82.32 percent in 1994 to 91.70 percent in 1996.
61. Basic Salary and Other Benefits of Public School Teachers The teachers basic monthly
salary was raised from P3, 102 in 1992 to P8, 605 in 1997. This salary increment was based
on RA 6758 or the Salary Standardization Law. Financial assistance was extended to
teachers through the GSIS and other financial institutions, including the establishment of
cooperative, shelter programs and in-service education, etc.
62. Education Areas Requiring Priority Attention According to DECS, these areas were
identified as critical and therefore requiring immediate attention, namely: (i) financing the
basic education; (ii) modernization program; (iii) increased fund requirements for textbooks;
(iv) review of bilingual policy on instruction; (v) devolution of education function to LGUs; and
(vi) additional year of basic education.
63. Financing the Basic Needs in Education The government has been trying its best to
provide adequate fund support to education sector. However, due to economic constraints,
year in and year out, the budget support for education ahs been quite inadequate. And so
inspite of the scarcity and very limited financial capability of the national government, it has
been taping other sources via reallocation, rechannel of resources and exploration of
alternative sources from LGUs, POs and NGOs.
64. Implementation of Education Modernization Program The establishments of regional and
provincial science high school and provision of science laboratories and science technology
activities; sustaining the rescue initiative for science education (Project RISE) which aims to
retrain science teachers nationwide over a five-year period; and the establishment of schools
of the future to give access in the provision of information technology tools such as
computers, CDs and internets.
65. Increased Fund Requirements for Textbook The implementation of the textbook
privatization program mandated by RA 8047 has triggered a threefold increase in textbook
pieces. An estimated P8 billion is required to provide textbooks during the next two school
years on 1:1 student- textbook ratio.
66. Review of the Bilingual Policy The DECS goal is to enhance learning via two languages;
Filipino and English. However, this cannot be achieved immediately. There is still lack of
preparedness with respect to teachers, students and instructional materials.
67. Devolution of Education Functions to LGUs This will enable the educational system to
accommodate local preferences, making the curriculum more relevant to local conditions and
needs, and generate greater support from local governments, communities and parents.
68. Additional Year of Basic Education This is a move lengthening the basic education from
10 years to 11 years. This would enable our education system to globalize the standard of
Philippine education. However, this proposal was held in abeyance pending a government
decision to pursue it either in elementary or high school level.
69. Some Laws Affecting the Education System In the Decade of 1990s Some of the laws
which were passed during the 1990s can be cited as follows: (i) RA 7662, Providing Reform
on Legal Education; (ii) RA 7722, Commission on Higher Education (CHED); (iii)RA 7731,
Abolishing NCEE; (iv)RA 7743, Establishment of Congressional Cities, Municipal Libraries

and Barangay Reading Centers in the Philippines (v) RA 7784, Teachers Education Council
and Establishment of Centers for Excellence for Teachers Education (vi)RA 7796, Creating
the TESDA; (vii)RA 7797, Lengthening School Calendar to 220 school days; (viii)RA 7798,
Establishment of Stock Educational Cooperatives; (ix)RA 7836, strengthening of the
Regulation of the Practice Teaching in the Philippines and prescribing a Licensure
Examination for Teachers
70. (x) RA 7889, Establishing UP in Mindanao; (xi) RA 8047, Book Publishing Industry
Development Act; (xii) RA 8190, Granting Priority Appointment or Assignment to Public
School Teachers Who Reside in a Barangay, Municipality or City near the school; (xiv) RA
8292, Providing for Uniform Composition, Powers of the Governing Board, Manner of
Appointment and Term of Office of the President of Chartered SUCs;
71. (xv)RA 8491, Prescribing the Code of National Flag, Anthem, Motto, Coat of Arm and
other Heraldic Items and Devices; (xvi)RA 8492, Establishing a National Museum and
providing for its Permanent Home; (xvii)RA 8496, Establishing the Philippine Science High
School System; (xviii)RA 8525, Establishing Adopt a School Program; (xix)RA 8545,
Providing Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education; and (xx)
RA 8557, establishing the Philippine Judicial Academy that shall serve as a Training School
for Justices, Lawyers and Court Personnel.

Data from the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on

Higher Education (CheEd) showed that there are three million students who are
graduating this year, some 500,000 are college graduates and barely half of
the total graduates get jobs immediately after graduation.
The apparent reason observed, is that college graduates skills do not match with
the available job vacancies. The Philippine government Department of Labor and
Employment (DoLE) expressed concern that many of the graduates do not satisfy
what the industry needs.
According to DoLE, local as well as overseas employers continue to grumble over
lack of employable graduates in spite of job vacancies. Many of the graduates are
either not ready for the jobs or they dont possess the needed skills and knowledge
relevant to the work they applied for.
This year and onwards it shall be expected that about 97 percent of the job
available are in the cyber services like for instance: call center, information
technology and sales.

To address the problem of job mismatch, the government labor agency has
launched a Job Fit project. Their objective is to identify the needed skills usually
demanded by future employers.
The project also intends to address not only the perennial job and skill mismatch but
also the youth unemployment status all over the country as well.
Moreover, the project shall serve as a guide to the education sector to formulate an
appropriate curricula and provide the necessary skill training needed for the newly
graduates as demanded by the industry.
It has also looked upon into the role of guidance counselors in all schools all over
the country, that they can primarily be instrumental in educating the students by
outlining of what are the needed skill and knowledge that they can be able to use in
their respective chosen endeavor in order to increase their chances of landing a job
after they have graduated from college.
- See more at: http://affleap.com/job-mismatch-causes-high-employmentrate/#sthash.i46CPju6.dpuf

, Philippines THE government is addressing the mismatch in jobs and skills, through an integrated
system of education that prepares Filipinos for gainful employment. Executive Order (EO) 83, signed by
President Benigno S. Aquino III on October 10, 2012, institutionalizes the Philippine Qualifications
Framework (PQF), a national policy that weaves basic education, technical-vocational education, and
higher education into one coherent, quality-assured instrument for classifying qualifications according to a
set of criteria for learning results.
The adoption of PQF is part of the 22-point labor and employment agenda of the Aquino Administration
which includes investing in the countrys human resource to make it more competitive and employable,
while promoting industrial peace based on social justice. It is one of four convergent programs designed
by the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster to address jobs and skills; the others are K-12
Educational Reform, Career Guidance Advocacy Program, and Use of PhilJob.net.
Major implementors of EO 83 are the Department of Labor and the Employment, Department of
Education, the Commission on Higher Education, the Technical Education and Skills Development
Authority, and the Professional Regulation Commission. They will jointly craft national pilot programs to
determine PQFs relevance and applicability in all levels of education.
Jobs-skills mismatch is one of the factors being cited for the unemployment situation in the country. The
National Statistics Office said the number of jobless Filipinos remained the same in July, 2012, compared
to a year earlier. The July, 2012, Labor Force Survey showed that unemployment rate in July was 7
percent or 2.8 million, practically unchanged from 7.1 percent jobless rate in July, 2011.
We wish Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz, Department of Education
Secretary Armin A. Luistro, Commission on Higher Education Chairperson Patricia B. Licuanan, Technical

Education and Skills Development Authority Director-General Joel J. Villanueva, and Professional
Regulation Commission Chairman Teresita R. Manzala, all the best and success in their combined efforts
to enhance the skills and competencies of Filipinos to become globally competitive.
CONGRATULATIONS AND MABUHAY!

Mismatch in education
Background of the Study It is evident that the distribution of income in an economy
is related to the amount of education people have accumulated. The educational
attainment of a person will greatly reflect on the career and the job he will pursue
that will significantly amount the income fitted for his labor. Mismatch exists in the
labor market in the form of educational or skills mismatch, education-job
mismatches. According to Allen & van der Velden (2001), these are reported to have
serious effects on wages and associated with negative labor market outcomes. The
basic idea is that, although higher education raises productivity in general, the
actual level of productivity realized is also determined by the match between
educational and job level. There are different kinds of mismatches. Spatial
mismatch refers to the disparity between where people who need jobs live and
where jobs are available. An example by Buchan & Calman (2004) is when health
workers typically prefer to live and work in larger cities that offer greater job
opportunities and infrastructure resulting in greater shortage in rural settings and
unemployment or underemployment in urban settings. Skills mismatch refers to the
situation where the workers skills and education are not adequate for the demands
of jobs in the current economy. There is a mismatch between the skills workers
possess and what jobs require, what economists call an imbalance between the
supply of and demand for human capital. Handel (2003) said that skills mismatch
can describe situations in which workers skills exceed or lag behind those
employers seek. An UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS 6 example of this in the
Philippine setting is the oversupply of nurses and lack of demand for them. The
Filipino nurses may have difficulty entering the US labor market until 2020 since the
shortage of nurses in America ended in 2010 and now, they have ample supply of
US-educated nurses. The government is pushing for new legislation that would
establish a special local jobs plan for idle Filipino nurses, now estimated at more
than 300,000. In line with these, the focus of this research is to specifically analyze
the education-occupation mismatch and its impact on wage. This research calls for
a need to look on the issues of mismatches since it affects the labor market. As in
the case of the Philippines, there is indeed a need to look and review labor
mismatch because this causes high unemployment rate. The evident reason
observed, is that college graduates skills do not match with the available job
vacancies and the specific fields they should be placed on is already occupied,
therefore they will be left unemployed. The Department of Labor and Employment

said that many of the graduates do not satisfy what the economy needs. They are
either not ready for the jobs or they dont possess the needed skills or knowledge
needed for the work they applied for. Mismatch can also be noticed when workers
and jobs are randomly assigned to labor markets. Each labor market clears at each
instant but some have more workers than jobs, hence unemployment, and some
have more jobs than workers, hence vacancies. According to Shimer (2005), as
workers and jobs move between labor markets, some unemployed workers find
vacant jobs and some employed workers lose or leave their job and become
unemployed. Thus, this research will focus also analyze the Beveridge Curve (ratio
of vacant jobs and unemployed workers) that will be important in understanding the
existence of mismatch on the Philippine labor market.

Significance of the Study The analysis of educational-occupational mismatch and

the existence of the Beveridge Curve in the Philippine labor market would be
significant to the following: a. The Government- Mismatch worsens the employment
circulation of the labor market and brings negative effects to the workers in the
labor market who face occupational downgrading in their careers as in the case of
underemployment in which workers that are highly skilled work in low paying and
low-skilled jobs. The research could help the government in addressing these
problems. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) - The study would be
helpful for the DOLE to find possible solutions to address the negative effects of the
existence of labor mismatch such as providing job opportunities and skills training
that would augment the mismatch experienced by the mismatched individuals in
their line of work. Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher
Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
(TESDA) - The study would be helpful to the following education sectors as through
the study, they can have knowledge on what field of study they should give more
focus and attention as according to what the labor market demands in order to
solve the problem of underemployment and unemployment. UNIVERSITY OF SANTO
TOMAS 9 b. The Students- The study would be beneficial to the high school students
as the study would provide information that can help them on their choice of the
field of study (course) that they would be taking in their college. The study can also
help the graduating college students in choosing their path of careers. c. EconomyThe research would be significant for it can provide the basis of the government in
taking actions to properly utilize the labor force in order for them to be productive
and therefore be instruments in creating a better economy. d. The researchers- The
research would be significant to the researchers for this paper will enable them to
apply what they have learned in the 4 years of study and this would enable them to
learn and discover new findings relevant to their field of study, Economics.

2009-2010 Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) Integrated Survey

(BITS) The 2009/2010 BITS results showed that from January 2009 to January 2010
the total number of job vacancies are at 276,940 while job applicants is roughly 6
times higher at 1,969,976 for all occupations. Manufacturing, real estate, renting
and business activities, and education industries had the most number of hard-to-fill
vacancies. The most common problems in filling up vacant positions include lack of
competency, high expectations in wage/salary, and lack of work experience.

Education became very important for the Filipinos. This was something that the Americans gave
importance to, The spread of democracy and formation of good citizens including the rights and
responsibilities of the people were the focus of American education in the country. Education
allowed the Americans to spread or share their culture, particularly the English language, to the
Filipinos.
The American government wanted to give everyone the chance to study so they built public
schools for the Filipinos. Volunteer Filipino soldiers became the first teachers of the Filipinos.
Part of their mission was to build classrooms in every place where they were assigned. The
Filipino soldiers stopped teaching only when a group of teachers from the U.S. came to the
Philippines in June 1901. They came aboard the ship "Sheridan." In August 1901, 600 teachers
called "Thomasites" arrived. Their name came from the ship they traveled on, the S.S. Thomas.
This group became successful in their mission.

Every child from age 7 was required to register in schools located in their own town or province.
The students were given free school materials. There were three levels of education during the
American period. The "elementary" level consisted of four primary years and 3 intermediate
years. The "secondary" or high school level consisted of four years; and the third was the
"college" or tertiary level.
Many elementary and secondary schools were opened in cities and provinces. Normal, vocational,
agricultural, and business schools were also opened. There were also colleges during the
American period. Some of these colleges are: Philippine Normal School in 1901 (now a university);
National University (1901);,University of Manila (1914); Philippine Women University (1919); and
Far Eastern University (1933). Examples of vocational schools are: the Philippine Nautical School,
Philippine School of Arts and Trades and the Central Luzon Agriculture School. The University
of the Philippines was also founded in 1908.

Religion was not included in the curriculum of the schools. The Americans also gave recognition to
those students who excelled academically. They were sent to the U.S. to continue their studies
and to become expert in their desired fields or professions. They were called "scholars" because

the government covered all their expenses. In return, they were to teach or work in government
offices after they finished their studies. There were successful Filipino scholars like Judge
Jose Abad Santos, Francisco Benitez, Dr. Honoria Sison and Francisco Delgado.
The government was not only concerned with the welfare of the youth. Formal education was also
provided to those who were of age. Schools were also built in non-Catholic areas like Sulu,
Mindanao, and the Mountain Provinces. Attention was given to vocational and health practice. The
knowledge of the Filipinos in reading and writing were very high during the American period.

rief Historical Background of Education and Values Education in

the Philippines (Draft)
AUTHOR Eric Agustin

Brief Historical Background of Values Education in the Philippines

For the past years, the most popular traditional approaches used in teaching Values
Education are values clarification (Raths, et. Al., 1966), cognitive development approach
(Kohlberg, 1984), and character education (Lickona, 1991).

Pre-Colonial Times: The Philippines during the pre-colonial period has no formal politics,
religion, laws, but only informal ones. Philippine natives (Filipinos) value diplomatic skills in
order to maintain peaceful co-existence with their neighboring communities, as well as, survival
skills (such as hunting, farming and fishing). With their Asian neighbors, specifically, China,
they had good trading skills.
Spanish Colonial Era (1521-1898): The Spaniards, for nearly 4 centuries, made the
Filipinos complacent being their vassals for Spain. Spaniards were triumphant in making the
Indios (the Spaniard used this for Filipinos during those colonial years) submissive using the
Catholic religion and salvation. Filipinos value the prevailing religious system by being
subservient to the Spanish religious and even economic and political authorities. However,

nearly half after that period, there was awakening and critical questioning and finally, revolution
on the part of Filipinos. There were marked global changes such as the French Revolution,
opening of the Philippines to world trade, and so forth, which has given the Filipino illustrados
(middle class) to be educated abroad. But even with these turn of events, education was selective,
that is, it was still for the chosen few. The great uneducated masses and a few of the illustrados,
for want of freedom, revolted against the Spaniards for their emancipation until 1898.
American Occupation (1898-1946): Little did the Filipinos realize that, immediately after
the Spaniards left the Philippine shores, the Americans were later became their masters.
Americans established new political structures, socio-economic ideologies and most importantly,
schools across the Philippine islands as their most effective methods of appeasing restless
Filipino natives. American teachers taught Filipinos how to read and write using the English
language, American national anthem, American history and geography, American heroes, etc.
The school subjects that concerned moral education consist of civics, good manners and right
conduct (GMRC), and character education whereas religious instruction became optional. Some
of the Filipino values during this era are: freedom to choose ones religion, submissive reverence
to accepted authorities, self-reliance, patriotism, loyalty, autonomy, and national unity (under the
Philippine Commonwealth).
Filipinos appreciated the Americans for making education accessible for them all
regardless of their status in life. The Americans claimed the success of Philippine public
educational system because of the increased in literacy rates and civic consciousness but still as a
conquered nation. Hence, despite either the colonialization or benevolence of the US to the
Philippines, their efforts were without any repercussions such that the Filipino nationalism
gradually moved on the backstage. Filipinos learned not only the goodness brought by literacy
and self-governance but also the Americans way of life, which oxymoronically, the start of the
failure of Philippine education.
Japanese Era (1942-1945): The Japanese introduced the Far East Asian Co-Prosperity
Sphere (FEACS). Philippine public school buildings and educational materials were destroyed
and then the Japanese established their schools for those who want to have education. These
were of devastating effects to the social values of the Filipinos considering that they also suffered
the conquerors brutalities because of its ultra-nationalism and culture. However, Filipinos were
adamant in fighting with the Americans until the end of the war. There was consequently massive
rebuilding not only of political leadership, infrastructure, but also the values of the nation
wrecked by the war.
Post-Japanese / American Era: After the liberation period, character and moral education
were re-introduced for moral reconstruction purposes. However, because of the rapid increase in
economic growth with concomitant increase in population as well as urbanization and the
demands for more social services. It was in 1951 that the Joint Committee of Congress on
Education Reform reported that the Philippine public educational system is in crisis and thereby
recommended the offering of Grade 7, but was never enacted more so, implemented. Hence, for
the succeeding decades, it has become a perennial issue. During the mid 1950s, ironically, there

was rapid economic growth but also brain drain because some middle class Filipinos went
abroad for greener pastures.
Martial Law Period: Educational Development Act of 1972 mandated the maximum
contribution towards the attainment of national goals such as economic advancement, heightened
national consciousness, moral progress, and promotion of desirable cultural values. However, the
14 years of authoritarianism and repressions under the Martial Law, there was a failure to restore
the failing public educational system.
Post-Martial Period: It was the 1986 EDSA Revolution that inspired many Filipinos to
place premium on liberty, respect for human rights, peace, and justice. New concepts were
introduced such as education being a privilege and not a right, relevant and democratic
schooling, schools for the masses, values for moral recovery, and so forth. The 1987 Philippine
Constitution stipulates theoretically free public education for all Filipinos (Doyle, 2005) wherein
all schools should inculcate nationalism and patriotism, appreciation of the roles of national
heroes in historical development, respect for human rights, teaching the rights and duties of
citizenship, strengthen ethnic and spiritual values, foster love of humanity, encourage creative
and critical thinking, development of personal discipline and moral character, promotion of
vocational efficiency, and broadening of scientific and technological knowledge [Article XIV
Sec. 3 (2)].