Education in the Philippines

During the pre-colonial period, most children were not provided solely vocational training, supervised by parents, tribal tutors or those assigned to specific, specialized roles within their communities (for example, the babaylan).[6] Inculcation of reverence for the god Bathala, obedience to authority, loyalty to the family or clan, and respect for truth and righteousness were the chief aims of education.[17] Among those who benefited from the accessible public education system were a burgeoning group of Filipino intellectuals: the Ilustrados ('enlightened ones'), some of whom included José Rizal, Graciano López Jaena, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, and Antonio Luna—all of whom played vital roles in the Propaganda Movement that ultimately inspired the founding of the Katipunan.1801, also known as Gabaldon Law, was passed in 1907, which provided a fund of a million pesos for the construction of concrete school buildings and is one of many attempts by the government to meet this demand.[36][37] A series of revisions (in terms of content, length, and focus) to the curriculum began in 1925 when the Monroe Survey Commission released its findings.The K–12 implementation process and phaseout of the 1945 K–10 curriculum took nine years and three Philippine presidents from Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in May 2008 to Rodrigo Duterte on June 5, 2017.[54] On June 4, 2010, during the final days of the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the 2010 Secondary Education Curriculum (SEC, or DepEd Order 76, Series of 2010) was implemented.After decades of surveys, consultations, and studies starting with the Monroe Survey in 1925 during the American period, the 9-year implementation process of K–12 curriculum finally began on May 20, 2008 when Senator Mar Roxas filed the Omnibus Education Reform Act of 2008 (Senate Bill 2294) to strengthen the Philippine education system through timely interventions on the quality of teachers, the medium of instruction used and the evaluation of students' aptitude, among other aspects.Senator and presidential candidate Benigno Aquino III then adopted the position of SB 2294 seven days after the start of the 2010s on January 7, 2010; he said this will "give everyone an equal chance to succeed" and "have quality education and profitable jobs.[63] The 1945 K–10 system was entirely phased out on June 5, 2017 upon K–12 became effective in Grade 6, ending the 9-year implementation process of the K–12 curriculum that spanned from the administrations of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to Rodrigo Duterte.[66] A new "less congested" and "revised" version of K–12, called the "Matatag curriculum", was launched by the DepEd, headed by Vice President Sara Duterte, in August 2023.[67] Formal education is the hierarchically structured, chronologically graded 'education system', running from primary school through the university and including, in addition to general academic studies, various specialized programs and institutions for full-time technical and professional training.The Philippine government since the Arroyo administration on May 20, 2008, through the Omnibus Education Reform Act of 2008 filed by Mar Roxas, justified the 9-year implementation process of K–12 which included the effectivity of the new curriculum on April 24, 2012 during the administration of Arroyo's successor Benigno Aquino III as part of the process because prior to the new K–12 on the said date of April 2012 while the process was ongoing, the Philippines was the only country in Asia and one of the three countries worldwide with a 10-year pre-university cycle (Angola, Djibouti and Myanmar); the national government and later DepEd from 2012 also said the 13-year program is found to be the best period for learning under primary education, and is also the recognized standard for students and professionals globally.In December 2007, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo planned to reinstate Spanish as a mandatory subject in all Filipino schools starting in 2008, but this did not come into effect.In public schools, the core subjects introduced starting in grade 1 include Mathematics, Filipino, and Araling Panlipunan (synonymous with Social studies).Until 2004, primary students traditionally took the National Elementary Achievement Test (NEAT) administered by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS).Other public or private secondary schools offer specialized curricular programs for students with gifts and talents and aptitude in sciences and mathematics, sports, the arts, journalism, foreign language, or technical-vocational education.These will make up 15 core courses with the same contents and competencies but with allowed contextualization based on the school's location despite specializations of tracks and strands.Core subjects include Oral Communication, Reading and Writing, Komunikasyon at Pananaliksik sa Wika at Kulturang Pilipino, Pagbasa at Pagsuri ng Iba't-ibang Teksto Tungo sa Pananaliksik, 21st Century Literature from the Philippines and the World, Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions, Media and Information Literacy, General Mathematics, Statistics and Probability, Earth and Life Science, Physical Science, Personal Development, Understanding Culture, Politics, and Society, Introduction to Philosophy of the Human Person / Pambungad sa Pilosopiya ng Tao and Physical Education and Health[needs update] For their specialization classes, students choose from four tracks: Academic; Technical-Vocational-Livelihood; Sports; and Arts and Design.PSHS and RSHS students must maintain an average grade, especially in their advanced sciences and math subjects, on a quarterly basis or continue their education in these schools.[86][87] The SMC combines the RBEC subjects (English, Filipino, Science, Math, and Makabayan) and the teaching of Arabic and Islamic studies.[88] Until 2020 the academic year in basic education centers usually ran from June to March, with an intervening semestral break at the last week of October (around All Saints' Day).[90] In 2020, owing to the COVID pandemic, the school year moved for the first time to a shorter term beginning October of 2020 and ending in June of 2021.[91][92] Boys usually wear a collared shirt with pants or shorts (usually up to elementary level),[93] and black leather shoes and white socks.Girls usually wear a collared blouse, with or without a necktie or ribbon, a calf-length skirt or jumper dress,[93] and black shoes and white socks.[97][98] Special HEIs, such as the Philippine Military Academy, offer programs related to public service and are administered through the use of specific laws that were created for them.If the student passes, they will be given a certificate signed by the DepEd secretary, allowing them to apply for college degrees, work, and formal training programs.[120] The Philippine education system struggles with policy implementation, and many government schools need more classroom space, textbooks, desks and learning equipment, such as libraries, computers and science laboratories.A local context of political and socio-religious tensions and a high rate of school principal turnover compound these bureaucratic weaknesses.Brain drain is a persistent problem evident in the educational system of the Philippines due to the modern phenomenon of globalization,[137] with the number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who worked abroad at any time from April to September 2014 estimated at 2.3 million.