ORGANIZATION AND
STRUCTURE OF THE
PHILIPPINE
EDUCATION SYSTEM
Benjo T. Robine MAT-
Math
Philippine Education Then and Now
• Pre-Spanish Time
• Spanish Regime
• American Regime
• Japanese Regime
• Philippine Education under the Present
System
PRE – SPANISH TIME (BEFORE 1521)
• The educators or the teachers during the pre-colonial era were the
Babaylan and the Katalonan.
• Education was truly valued by the early Filipinos.
• Both Filipino men and women knew how to read and write using
their own alphabet called alibata.
• Communities were Muslim, similar to those on Mindanao, and
education was proliferated through the religion of Islam. The
Imam or Ulema were the declared teachers. The children were
taught how to read, write and comprehend Arabic by using the
Koran as their holy book.
ANCIENT WRITING SYSTEM (ALIBATA)
SUMMARY
I. Education type II. Educational Methods
• Informal Education -Show and tell
• Practical training -Observation
-Trial and error
-Imitation
SPANISH PERIOD (1565 – 1898)
• Formal and Organized
• Religion-oriented education
• Education for the elite
• Controlled by friars
• Spanish missionaries as tutors
• Teach catechism to the natives
• Christian doctrine, prayers and sacred songs
• Education is a privileged not a right
Because of need, higher level schools were established
much later by virtue of royal decrees.
• Colegios
• Beaterios – house inhabited by pious woman or an
institution for religious women
EDUCATIONAL DECREE OF 1863
• Access to education by the Filipinos was later liberalized through the
enactment of the educational Decree of 1863
• Provided for the establishment of at least one primary school for boys and
girls in each town under the responsibility of the municipal government
• Establishment of a normal school for male teachers under the supervision
of the Jesuits.
• The Spanish schools started accepting Filipino students
• Intellectual Filipino emerged
SUMMARY
I. Educational Aims II. Educational Types
• To promote Christianity -formal education
• Promotion of Spanish language -religious education
• Imposition of Spanish Culture -catechism
-doctrine
III. Education Methods - vocational courses
-dictation
-memorization
-theater presentation
AMERICAN PERIOD (1901 – 1935)
• Every child from age seven was obliged to register at the nearest school.
School supplies were provided to the students for free.
• If students excelled academically they were given a chance to continue their
studies and to pursue their expertise in their chosen fields or professions in
the United States.
• Volunteer American soldiers were the first teachers of the Filipinos. Building
classrooms wherever they were assigned was part of their mission.
• Many elementary and secondary schools left behind by the Spaniards were
recycled and new ones were established in cities and provinces, namely
agricultural, business, normal and vocational schools.
• In accordance with the 1935 Constitution, free education in public schools all
over the country was provided by the Commonwealth. Nationalism was
emphasized in schools – teaching the students about the deceased Filipino
heroes.
• Cooking, farming, sewing and some household activities together with
vocational education were given importance. Discipline and proper manners
were also not neglected.
Most Important Colleges During American Rule
• Philippine Normal School in 1901
• National University (1901)
• St. Paul University Dumaguete (1904)
• Zamboanga Normal School in 1904 (now Western Mindanao State University)
• the University of Manila (1914)
• Philippine Women's University (1919) and
• Far Eastern University (1933)
SUMMARY
• I. Educational Aims III. Methods of Education
• To teach democracy -socialized recitation
• Separation of church and state -participation
-debate
• II. Educational Types -game/playing
• Formal Education
• First public school
• English Language
• Democracy
JAPANESE PERIOD (1941 – 1944)
6 Basic Principles of Japanese Education
• To enrich the Filipino culture and to stop patronizing western countries, i.e., the
United States and Great Britain;
• To recognize that the Philippines as a part of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity
Sphere so that the Philippines and Japan could have good relations;
• To boost the morality of the Filipinos and instill cautiousness of materialism;
• To forget and to stop English language learning, and instead learn and adopt
Nippongo;
• To proliferate primary and vocational education;
• To foster love for work.
PROGRAMS
• Social Sciences and Literature were de-emphasized while vocational
education and service to the country were given focus
• The use of Tagalog was encouraged, especially in literature.
PHILIPPINE EDUCATION UNDER THE PRESENT
SYSTEM
• In 2010, then-Senator Benigno Aquino III expressed his desire to implement the
K-12 basic education cycle to increase the number of years of compulsory
education to thirteen years.
• Kindergarten was formally made compulsory by virtue of the Kindergarten
Education Act of 2012, while the further twelve years were officially put into
law by virtue of the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.
• The K to 12 Program covers Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education
(six years of primary education, four years of Junior High School, and two
years of Senior High School [SHS]) to provide sufficient time for mastery of
concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary
education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.
SALIENT FEATURES OF K-12 EDUCATION
• Strengthening Early Childhood Education (Universal Kindergarten) - Every
Filipino child now has access to early childhood education through Universal
Kindergarten. At 5 years old, children start schooling and are given the means to
slowly adjust to formal education.
• Making the Curriculum Relevant to Learners (Contextualization and
Enhancement) - Examples, activities, songs, poems, stories, and illustrations are
based on local culture, history, and reality. This makes the lessons relevant to the
learners and easy to understand.
• Ensuring Integrated and Seamless Learning (Spiral Progression) - Subjects
are taught from the simplest concepts to more complicated concepts through
grade levels in spiral progression. As early as elementary, students gain
knowledge in areas such as Biology, Geometry, Earth Science, Chemistry,
and Algebra. This ensures a mastery of knowledge and skills after each level.
• Building Proficiency through Language (Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual
Education) - Students are able to learn best through their first language, their
Mother Tongue (MT).
• Gearing Up for the Future (Senior High School) - Senior High School is two
years of specialized upper secondary education; students may choose a
specialization based on aptitude, interests, and school capacity. The choice of
career track will define the content of the subjects a student will take in
Grades 11 and 12. SHS subjects fall under either the Core Curriculum or
specific Tracks.
• Nurturing the Holistically Developed Filipino (College and Livelihood
Readiness, let Century Skills) - After going through Kindergarten, the
enhanced Elementary and Junior High curriculum, and a specialized Senior
High program, every K to 12 graduate will be ready to go into different paths
– may it be further education, employment, or entrepreneurship.
Thank you for listening
