The Philippine Education System Critique

By: JANNIL CACHOLA

BSE-Social Studies III

To understand the educational revolution of the Philippines the historical developments

that shaped this revolution are outlined. The Philippines faced a long period of foreign
dominance. In 1553, an expedition led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi established the first Spanish
settlement on the Filipino island Cebu. Spanish authority lasted for several hundreds of years and
was never questioned seriously. This changed remarkably in 1896 when Cuba, another Spanish
colony unsuccessfully fought for independence. The Cuban conflict reached the front pages of
journals in the United States (US) and under pressure by the senate and the public, US president
William McKinley took action against Spain. During the Spanish-American war in 1898, the
Americans occupied the Spanish colonial territories of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines.
After mediation of France, a ceasefire was signed on August 12th 1898 and peace negotiations
lead to the Treaty of Paris. The Treaty resulted in an independent Cuba while the Philippines
together with the islands Guam and Puerto Rico became colonies of the US. In November 1935,
the Tydings-McDuffie act granted the Philippines self-governance with the inauguration of the
commonwealth. Moreover the act assigned full independence to the Philippines within a period
of ten years. Although several US and Filipino politicians argued that it was not the right
moment for full independence, due the havoc caused by the Second World War, the Philippines
became an independent nation on July 4th 1946. In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos rose to power and
gradually transformed the nation towards an authoritarian state. During Marcos’ quarter of a
century rule, poverty was widespread, inflation was soaring and corruption was blatant.
Consequently, the Philippines did not manage to achieve a high-speed industrial growth like
South-Korea or Taiwan during the last 40 years of the 20th century. Although the Philippines
and the US always considered each other as allies, the relationship weakened. The reign of
Marcos could be seen as closing point of the American political legacy.

The basic education system of the Philippines faces two major problems: (1) high
dropout rates in primary and secondary schools, and (2) lack of mastery of specific skills and
content as reflected in poor performance in standard tests for both Grade IV and Grade VIII (2nd
year high school) students. Unfortunately, the proposed K+12 curriculums do not directly
address these problems. The central feature of the K to 12 Program is the upgrading of the basic
education curriculum to ensure that learners acquire the relevant knowledge and skills they will
need to become productive members of society. With the participation of the Commission on
Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the program
has the capability of offering professionally designed classes and apprenticeships in sports, the
arts, middle-level skills, entrepreneurship, and applied math and sciences. [Note that officials of
CHED and TESDA are not academic scientists.

Department Order No. 74, issued in 2009, institutionalized mother tongue-based

multilingual education (MTBMLE) as a fundamental policy in our formal and non-formal
education… the Department of Education has decided to use the L1 as medium of instruction in
all kindergarten and Grade 1 classes nationwide effective June 2012 under the new K-12
curriculum… This is precisely what the 2nd Philippine Conference-Workshop on Mother
Tongue-Based Multilingual Education aims to inculcate in us.

At present, the Philippines is the only country in Asia and among the three remaining
countries in the world that uses a 10-year basic education cycle. According to a presentation
made by the South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO-INNOTECH) on
Additional Years in Philippine Basic Education (2010), the comparative data on duration of
Basic and Pre-University Education in Asia shows that the Philippines allots 10 years not just for
the basic education cycle but also for the pre-university education while all the other countries
have either 11or 12 years in their basic education cycle. Achievement scores highlight our
students’ poor performance in national examinations. The National Achievement Test (NAT)
results for grade 6 in SY 2009-2010 showed only a 69.21%passing rate while the NAT results
for high school is at a low 46.38%. Moreover, international tests results in 2003 Trends in
International Mathematics and Science study (TIMSS) show that the Philippines ranked 34th out
of 38 countries in HS Math and 43rd out of 46 countries in HS IIScience. Moreover, the
Philippines ranked the lowest in 2008 even with only the science high schools joining the
Advanced Mathematics category. The present curriculum is described as congested. This means
that students do not get enough time to perform tasks because the curriculum is designed to be
taught in a span of 12 years and not 10 years. The more obvious result of this is the fact that most
high school students graduate without the readiness to take upon higher education or
employment. These students are notequipped with the basic skills or competencies needed at
work.

The Philippine education system has evolved over hundreds of years of colonial
occupation, first by Spain and then by the US, through martial law and the people’s power
revolution that brought democracy to the sprawling archipelago. The education sector’s
development has mirrored the changes in the country’s administration. Today the focus is on
expanding access and ensuring more Filipinos receive a decent basic education, as a means of
reducing poverty and improving national competitiveness. The World Bank notes that in other
countries such initiatives have brought “large economic benefits”. The K-12 reform was
introduced in 2016 and funding was increased, easing concerns that its implementation would be
hindered by limited resources and winning over new President Rodrigo Duterte, who was
initially sceptical about the plan.

K-12 extends compulsory schooling to grades 11 and 12, adding two years to secondary
school, and makes secondary education compulsory. Prior to its implementation, the Philippines
was the only country in Asia, and one of only a few in the world, to have a basic education
system of just 10 years. The EBEA also mandated kindergarten as the start of compulsory formal
education, while the Kindergarten Act of 2012 made pre-school free. In August 2016, 1.5m
Filipino children attended 11th grade, with senior school students choosing between four tracks
through the system: academic, technical-vocational, sports or the arts. Much of the opposition to
the initiative, which triggered five separate petitions to the Supreme Court, centred on whether
the country’s teachers, schools and administration were in a position to implement the reform.
President Duterte expressed scepticism about the programme before he was elected, but changed
his mind in May 2016 after a delegation from DepEd told him that the change was necessary, as
Filipino students were falling behind their neighbours.

Indeed, increased spending on basic education – including an expanded Alternative

Learning System (ALS) – is a centerpiece of the new president’s 10-point socio-economic
agenda. President Duterte insists that the development of the Philippines’ human capital is a
priority of his administration. Building on existing programmes, the education secretary, Leonor
Briones, said that the Duterte administration’s education policy intends to ensure that the country
provides a quality education that is accessible to all and relevant to the needs of the nation.
Filipinos should also find education “truly liberating” through the development of critical
thinking skills and an appreciation of culture and the arts

In 2015 the Education for All (EFA) initiative included provisions to ensure all Filipinos
were able to achieve what UNESCO calls “functional literacy”, the ability to read, write and do
calculations at a level that is sufficient for the country in which a particular person lives. Further
supporting the K-12 reform, the government set four key objectives for the EFA initiative:
providing education options for all out-of-school adults and young people; eliminating drop-outs
and repetition during the first three years of school; encouraging the completion of a full cycle of
basic schooling to a satisfactory level at every grade by all Filipino children; and committing to
the attainment of basic education competencies for everyone.

In fact, recognition of the need to move towards K-12 was evident much earlier. In 2005
the government promised, under the Basic Education Reform Agenda, to remove all hurdles
limiting access to and delivery of basic education, whether regulatory, structural, financial or
institutional. The policy involved five key thrusts: school-based management; the development
of teacher education; national learning strategies; quality assurance and accountability; and
changes to the administration of DepEd, using the latest technology to ensure more effective use
of resources, whether staff or funds. DepEd itself assessed the implementation of K-12 at a
January 2017 conference with stakeholders including government officials, school administrators
and teachers.

Among the encouraging news, it found that the situation in kindergartens had improved,
with a more localised curriculum, the construction of clean, safe and child-friendly classrooms,
and closer cooperation with the community. Children were developing a love of reading, while
teachers’ skills had been enhanced via use of technology and the adoption of more effective
teaching strategies.

For grades one to six, best practice included a curriculum more suited to the needs of
Christian and Muslim pupils, closer cooperation with indigenous communities, the provision of
self-paced learning materials, catch-up programmes at all levels and the introduction of Learning
Action Cell sessions for teachers’ professional development. DepEd noted that in schools that
had adopted these practices enrolment rose and the drop-out rate fell. Minority groups were also
more confident, with Muslim children having the opportunity to learn Arabic.

Junior high schools also focused on programmes to reduce the drop-out rate and nurture
continued learning, including the use of ALS through a virtual classroom, a basic literacy
programme for adults, and scholarships for adult learners and students with special needs.
Schools reported increased enrolment and participation, along with rising community awareness.
Teacher competency also improved with training in new learning strategies focused on real-
world application.

In senior high schools, where the full roll-out of grade 12 is now taking place, DepEd
said that the policy has been largely successful, noting the transfer of junior high school teachers
to fill vacancies, and improved cooperation both between local and national government, and
with the private sector on the provision of facilities, including classrooms and dormitories for
pupils living in remote areas. A large percentage of those enrolled in private schools received
vouchers, with scholarships also available.

The Philippines has embarked on education reforms that it considers crucial to its
economic development, bringing its school system into line with international standards and
seeking to open up its higher education sector to more people, while supporting R&D that will
raise its academic profile and bring lasting benefits to the country.

The government had to overcome substantial opposition to introduce K-12, a sign of its
determination to bring lasting change, but sustained funding to support the increased demand on
resources will be crucial if these bold reforms are to be a success.