EDCOM REPORT
OF
1991
WHAT IS EDCOM?
EDCOM stands for Congressional
Commission on Education to Review
and Assess Philippine Education.
It was created by a Joint Resolution
of the Eight Philippine Congress on
the 17th of June in 1990.
WHAT IS EDCOM REPORT?
This is considered as a contemporary assessment that
also studied the future directions of the educational
set-up in the country, thus, marking the Fifth Republic
as one of the milestones of the Philippine education.
(Villenas, 2013)
The report assessed the scenario of education in the
Philippines.
The aim was to elicit common concerns and issues
about the current educational set-up, participants
assessment of the schools performance, quality of
educational programs & services, and their suggestions
to revolutionize the system.
EDCOM FINDINGS
Too Little Investment in Education
The government is not spending enough for
education as compared with ASEAN countries. Only
1.3% of the GDP is allotted to the education sector.
Disparities in Access in Education
The rich and high income families were favored by
the educational institutions, whether formal and
nonformal. There is a high percentage of incomplete
primary and elementary schools in depressed
regions.
Low Achievement
Pupils on average learn only 55% or even less of
what must be learned. On the other hand, rich and
high income families got higher achievement
records.
High Drop-out Rate in Less Developed Communities
Drop-out rates in elementary and secondary
schools are highest in rural and less developed
communities and among poor students.
Special Needs Neglected
Muslim and cultural communities as well as
special learners suffer from benign neglect.
Limited ECE & NFE Services
Only rich families acquired early childhood
education and development. Nonformal education
services are inadequate and found only in developed
communities.
Schooling Length & Class Interruptions, Less Quality
Disruptions in regular class schedules and length
of school year correlate with less learning and less
quality.
Inadequate science and technology
Science and technology including modern
innovations are inadequate, or if not, unsuited to
classroom instruction.
Ineffective Values Education
Values education in schools is lacking and
ineffective.
Bilingual Education affects learning
The use of Filipino and English as mode of
instruction distresses the quality of learning.
Manpower Mismatched
Incompatibility in the supply and demand for
educated and trained manpower is seen.
Irrelevance of Education
Education is found to be insignificant to the
individual and social needs.
Incompetent Training & Instruction
Inadequacy of trained and effective teachers
was shown. Graduate studies are mediocre,
limited and underdeveloped.
Ineffective and Inefficient Organization
Organizational structure of the educational
system is ineffective and inefficient.
The report also showed that same problems were
reported since the Monroe Survey in 1925 up to
EDCOM Report of 1991.
No significant improvement in Philippine
education is seen for over 65 years.
EDCOM RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the findings, EDCOM
recommended the following reforms:
The prioritization of basic education by to
ensure the then Department of Education,
Culture and Sports (DECS) undivided
attention to this sector;
The development of alternative learning
modes especially for literacy acquisition;
The use of the mother tongue as language of
learning from Grades 1 to 3, with Filipino
gradually becoming the medium of instruction
in basic education and English a subsidiary
medium of instruction in later years;
The expansion and enrichment of
technical/vocational education;
The strengthening of pre-service teacher
education and provision of incentives to make
the rewards of teaching commensurate to its
importance as a career;
Professionalization of teachers and
teaching with licensure exams and increase
in the basic minimum wage salary;
Support for both public and private
education;
The facilitation of planning, delivery, and
education financing and training by
industry, workers, teachers, parents and
local governments;
Greater access of poor children to all levels
of education;
More cost-effective public college and
university education with curricular
programs that are relevant to the
communities they serve;
The search for new sources of funds
(including taxes) to finance basic
education;
Strengthening graduate education and
research;
Creation of Commission on Higher
Education (CHED) to be the main body
responsible for colleges and universities,
both private and public.
The restructuring of the Department of
Education, Culture and Sports (DECS),
now Department of Education (DepEd), to
ensure clearer program focus, rational
resource allocation and realistic planning;
With the proposed restructuring of the
Philippine Education, this will ensure that
program focus is clear and resources are
allocated rationally and plans are realistic and
attainable. For the final point, the EDCOM
commended also that the government should
put all our money in basic education because it
is all the formal schooling the masses of our
people get. However, the government must
ensure more efficiency and productivity from
our education establishment.
-REJULIOS M. VILLENAS
MA EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT
PNU LOPEZ CAMPUS
QUEZON
