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Transcript of Historico legal and philosophical
Historico-legal and Philosophical Bases of the Philippine Education
A PowerPoint Presentationof
Mr. Kenneth June S. PototEnglish Teacher
G. Jurado Foundation School Inc.
From a historical standpoint, the Philippine educational system has been regarded as a hybrid, reflecting the country’s cultural and
colonial history. Education laws and policies that have been enacted and implemented throughout history are
testaments to this.
Observably, Philippine culture and society value education as a means to an end. This is probably the reason why the Philippines has one of the highest literacy rates in Asia
and in the world.
In this chapter, the Philippine educational system is presented within the context of
history, law, and philosophy across the timeline of Philippine history.
Pre-historic and early education history
The discovery of Laguna Copperplate Inscription dated 900AD highlighted the
cultural links present between the Tagalog-speaking people this time and the various contemporary civilizations in Asia, most
notably the middle kingdoms of India, and the Srivijaya empire.
For emphasis, 900AD is now the recognized date when the first surviving written record
that came from the Philippines was inscribed. The plate has an inscribed date
of Saka era 822, corresponding to April 21, 900 AD. Written in the Kavi script, the plate
contains many words from Sanskrit, old Javanese, old Malay, and old Tagalog.
In this document, the places of Tondo, Pila and Pulian in the area around Manila Bay
and Medan (the Javanese Kingdom of Medang in Indonesia) were mentioned, apparently as sites of trade or business
during that time.
When Spanish came in 1521, they noticed that the Filipino natives could read and
write with common scripts in Baybayin, the pre-Spanish Filipino alphabet.
Colonial, revolutionary, and commonwealth
periods
Spanish Colonial Period
The Spanish conquest started in 1521 with the arrival of the Portuguese explorer
Ferdinand Magellan, and ended in 1898. Tribal tutors this time were replaced by Christian missionaries. The education system was basically Catholic and elite
based. Education was then a privilege that was never made available to the indios.
Compulsory public education was initiated and implemented through the enactment of Educational Decree of 1863. The decree
mandated a system of free, compulsory primary education. It also initiated the establishment of primary schools for boys and girls in each town
under the responsibility of the municipal government; and a normal school for male
teachers under the tutelage of the Jesuits. It included the compulsory teaching of the
Spanish language.
This system benefited largely the illustrados who could afford to send their
children to the limited number of secondary and tertiary schools (colegios)
open to non-Spaniards.
Citing a Joint Congressional Committee on Education Report in 1949, Elevaso &
Elevaso (1995) point out the underlying philosophical concerns of education during
the Spanish period:
•The development of knowledge of the Christian faith and ethics in preparation for the afterlife
•The ability to read, write, and count, which are the fundamental tools of knowledge.
•The practice of allegiance to the colonial rule of Spain
•The acquisition of vocational skills in agriculture and trade
•The ability to sing and read music primarily for participation in religious activities and secondarily for leisure.
Colonial, revolutionary, and commonwealth
periods
The First Philippine Republic
Article XXII of the provisional Constitution written in Biak-na-Bato contained a
provision on education: “Religious liberty, the right of association, the freedom of
education, the freedom of the press, as well as the freedom in the exercise of
professions, arts, trades, and industries are established.”
The Revolutionary Government pursued remarkable efforts to promote the education of the people after its
establishment on June 12, 1898. It created a position of director of public instruction
under the Secretario de Fomento, to handle education matters.
Spanish built institutions that were closed for three centuries were reopened, and the medium of instruction focused primarily on the development of Filipino citizenship and nationalism. The philosophy of education
during the revolutionary period was centered on freedom and “love of country
within the context of love of God.”
Colonial, revolutionary, and commonwealth
periods
American Colonization Period
The Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898 which ended the Spanish-American War,
marked the beginning of another colonial regime in the Philippines. The US-
sponsored military government in the Philippines used the First Philippine Commission as its instrumentality to impose an American type of colonial
governance in the country. It promulgated legal policies affecting all aspects of Filipino lives, including education.
With the mandate of then President William McKinley, the Commission was instructed to institute an adequate secularized and free
public school system during the first decade of American rule “to enable the people to become a ‘civilized’ community”. The free primary instruction covered primarily the
teaching of the duties of citizenship, simple livelihood, and vocation as mandated by the
Taft Commission. Chaplains and non-commissioned officers were assigned to serve as teachers in the country, with English as the medium of instruction.
The American period was known for the establishment of a highly centralized public
school system by virtue of Act No. 74, enacted by the Philippine Commission in
1901. The Americans patterned the Philippine public school system after their
system of education.
Philippine public schools used American textbooks and reading materials to teach reading, writing, arithmetic, language, gardening, domestic science, American
history, and Philippine history. Vocational education was limited to “gardening,
carpentry, sewing, lace-making, and almost everything that would ‘civilize’ the
‘uncivilized’ Filipino.”
The implementation of Act No. 74 caused heavy shortage of teachers in the country. Because of this, between 1901 and 1902, the Philippine Commission authorized the secretary of public instruction to bring to the Philippines more than 1,600 teachers
from the US, popularly called the Thomasites.
Colonial, revolutionary, and commonwealth
periods
Commonwealth Period
From 1935-1946, a commonwealth system of government prevailed in the Philippines.
Prior to this period, the status of the Philippines was virtually undefined as some
called it an insular territory with non-commonwealth status.
The creation of the Philippine Commonwealth was envisioned under the Philippine Independence Act, also known as the “Tydings-McDuffie Act.” It was a self-governing, although foreign policies and military affairs remained under the
responsibility of the US, and the passage of law by the legislature affecting
immigration, foreign trade, and the currency system had to be approved by the
US president.
Meanwhile, the 1935 Constitution provided the framework and philosophy for public
education system in the Philippines. Section 5, Article XIV thereof provides that:
SEC 5. All educational institutions shall be under the supervision of and subject to
regulation of the state. All schools shall aim to develop moral character, personal
discipline, civic conscience, and vocational efficiency, and to teach the duties of
citizenship.
Considering the foregoing constitutional mandate, Manuel L. Quezon, the elected
president of the Commonwealth, formulated a system of guiding principles to serve as standards of behavior for the Filipino people, especially the youth. He
issued Executive Order No. 217, now known as the “Quezon Code of Citizenship
and Ethics,” reciting the foundational philosophy for the emerging system of
Philippine education.
It contains fundamental guidance on how to develop moral character, personal
discipline, civic conscience, and the duties of citizenship. The first two principles
therein are about faith in Divine Providence and love of country. The basic legal
guidelines that actually implemented the constitutional provision on education were embodied in Commonwealth Act No. 586, which was enacted to substantially reform
the public school system along the following principles:
1. To simplify, shorten, and render more practical and economical both the
primary and intermediate courses of instruction so as to place the same
within the reach of the largest possible number of school children;
2. To afford every child of school age adequate facilities to commence and
complete at least the primary course of instruction;
3. To give every child completing the primary course an adequate working
knowledge of reading and writing, the fundamentals of arithmetic, geography, Philippine history and government, and
character and civic training; and
4. To ensure that all children attending the elementary schools shall literate and become useful, upright, and patriotic
citizens.
Colonial, revolutionary, and commonwealth
periods
Japanese Colonial Period
When the Japanese Imperial Forces invaded the Philippines in 1942, the war-
time educational objectives and philosophies were pronounced on February 17, 1942 by its commander-in-chief, thus:
• To make people understand the position of the Philippines as a member of the East Asia
Co-prosperity Sphere, the true meaning of the establishment of a New Order in the sphere and the share which the Philippines should
take for the realization of the New Order, and thus to promote friendly relations between Japan and the Philippines to the furthest
extent.• To eradicate the old idea of reliance upon the
Western nations, especially the US and Great Britain, and to foster a new Filipino culture based on the self-consciousness of people as
Orientals;
•To endeavour to elevate the morals of the people, giving up the overemphasis on
materialism;•To strive for the diffusion of the Japanese
language in the Philippines and to terminate the use of English in due
course;•To put an importance to the diffusion of
elementary education and to the promotion of vocational education; and
•To inspire the people with the spirit to love labor.
During this period (1942-45), the Philippine Executive Commission established the Commission of Education, Health and
Public Welfare. Schools were reopened in June 1942. The Japanese military
administration immediately conducted re-orientation and re-training of Filipino
prewar teachers for the attainment of the aforementioned objectives.
Post-liberation Philippine education
The discussion of post-liberation period covers from Japan to the pre-Martial Law period. With the termination of World War
II and the restoration of the Philippine independence on July 4, 1946, the
philosophy of Philippine education to foster faith in democracy as a way of life was
reinstated.
One important piece of legislation during this period was R.A. No. 896 otherwise known as the “Elementary Education Act of 1953.” It
made compulsory the enrolment of a child the next school year following his/her seventh
birthday and the requirement for him/her to remain in school until he/she completed
elementary education, subject to the same exceptions provided under Commonwealth Act
No. 586 and the said Act. It also restored Grade VII, provided that the pupils who were in Grade VI at the time of its implementation were
no longer required to complete the seventh grade to be eligible for first year high school.
Notably, the right to education has been universally recognized since the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Article 26 of the Declaration proclaims that
“Everyone has the right education.” For instance, recognizing the right to education as a basic human right, Article 2 of the first
Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights (1952) obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education. The United Nations’ International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR, 1966) guarantees this right.
Add this
Post EDSA educational
system
After President Aquino assumed the presidency, the 1987 Constitution was approved on February 2, 1987, replacing the 1973 Constitution ratified during the dictatorial government of President
Marcos. Section 3, Article XIV of the new Constitution contains the 10 fundamental aims of
education in the Philippines. Prior thereto, President Aquino issued E. O. No. 117, reorganizing the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports; and
in the process, renaming the Bureau of Sports Development as the Bureau of Sports Development
as the Bureau of Physical Education and School Sports, and the Bureau of Continuing Education as the Bureau of Non-formal Education. The structure
of DECS as embodied in E.O. No.117 remained practically unchanged until 1994.
The duties of all educational institutions in relation to this mandate are clearly stated in
Art. XIV, Sec.3 (par.2) of the 1987 Constitution, thus: “They shall inculcate patriotism and
nationalism, foster love of humanity, respect of human rights, appreciation of the role of
national heroes in the historical development of the country, teach the rights and duties of citizenship, strengthen ethical and spiritual
values, develop moral character and personal discipline, encourage critical and creative
thinking, broaden scientific and technological knowledge, and promote vocational efficiency.”
Art. II, Section 17 of the 1987 Constitution states that: “The State shall give priority to
education, science and technology, arts, culture, and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress, and
promote total human liberation and development.”
The trifocal system of education in the Philippines had its impetus on the
Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM) Report dated December 28, 1991,
entitled “Making Philippines Education Work: An Agenda for Reform,” specifically
recommending the division of DECS into three agencies because of its findings on the
declining state of the Philippine education system brought about by poor public
governance, among other reasons. It found out that the quality of Philippine education was declining continuously as evidenced by the
following:
•Elementary and high schools are failing to teach the competence the average citizen needs to become responsible, productive,
and self-fulfilling;•Colleges and technical/vocational schools
were not producing manpower needed to develop our economy; and
•Graduate education was mediocre. It was not generating the researched-based
knowledge needed to create more jobs and to raise the value of production.
According to the EDCOM Report, the two main reasons for the decline of Philippine
education were:
•Not enough investment in the educational system; and
•Poorly managed educational establishments.
In line with this, the trifocal system of education was put in place through various
legislations.
First, Congress passed on May 18, 1994 R.A. No. 7722 or the “Higher Education Act of 1994,” creating CHED, which assumed
the functions of the Bureau of Higher Education and the supervision of tertiary
degree programs.
Second, Congress passed on August 25, 1994 R.A. No. 7796 known as the “Technical Education and Skills
Development Act of 1994,” which created the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA), which absorbed the Bureau of Technical
Vocational Education plus the National Manpower and Youth Council. While TESDA was to supervise non-degree,
technical-vocational programs, DECS, on the other hand, retained responsibility for all elementary and secondary education.
Third, in August 2001, Congress passed R.A. No. 9155, otherwise called the
“Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001,” which renamed DECS as the
Department of Education (DepEd) and refined the role of its field offices (regional offices, division offices, district offices, and
schools).
Thank you for your indulgence