Issues in educational system of the

Philippines frome the past

administration up to present
Janna Marie C. Ejercito

10- Garnet

Fidel Valdez Ramos

Joseph Ejercito Estrada

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III

Rodrigo Roa Duterte

Issues/ Problem in education

Fidel Valdez Ramos
-The emerging Educational Philosophy

Under the form of President Fidel V. Ramos, 1992-1998, a flurry of educational reforms, at the
initiative of the Philippine Congress, is being rushed to completion. On August 25, 1994,
President Ramos signed into law a number of bills purportedly designed to improve the quality
of Philippine education. In his speech for the occasion, he had this to say:

Today, we break new ground, and aim for higher goals in the Filipino’s continuing search for
means by which to win the future. We stand at the frontier of major and far-reaching
improvements in education. We leave behind the darkness of ignorance and backwardness
causes by the lack of quality education. Ahead beckons a horizon of hope and opportunity for a
greater number of our people.[19]

He went on to say that while growth in material terms is necessary and gainful, such material
growth cannot be achieved without a corresponding effort to increase the people’s intellectual
capacity and moral strength. He emphasized that this is the task of education which, is the right
of every citizen to receive, and the responsibility of government to provide.

He recalled the bills he signed into law earlier since February 1994, namely:

The science and technology scholarship law which will finance annually the education of 3,500
poor, talented and deserving students to be part of a pool of the country’s man-power in S and
T which he perceived as the “main battleground of the future”.

The law on dual-tech training which institutionalizes an innovation in technical-vocational

training through a combination of in-school and in-plant training;

The law that abolishes the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE);

The TESDA law which establishes the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority; and
The law establishing the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

The four new laws which the President signed on August 25 were (1) the law creating the legal
education board; (2) the law establishing centers of excellence in teacher education; (3) the law
lengthening the school calendar to 220 days a year; and (4) the law amending Section 25 of the
Education Act of 1982 to allow non-stock educational corporations to change their status to
stock corporations and to exempt family-administered pre-school institutions from the
requirements to incorporate.

In the legislative pipeline, as of this writing, is Senate Bill No.1391 creating the Department of
Basic Education to administer elementary and high school education considered as basic
education.

Three of these pieces of legislations, the CHED law, the TESDA law and the Basic Education bill,
will have split the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) into three bodies each
having different “parent” offices. The Commission on Higher Education will be attached to the
Office of the President. The TESDA will be an authority similar to the NEDA responsible to a
governing board with 13 members of which five are members of the President’s Cabinet. The
proposed Department of Basic Education to be headed by a Secretary will be what remains of
the former DECS; two of its structural arms will have been removed—the Bureau of Higher
Education and the Bureau of Technical and Vocational Education which have been absorbed by
the CHED and the TESDA, respectively

The new philosophy of education under the Ramos administration

The new philosophy of education under the Ramos administration is as follows:

The closing year of the century find us beset by seemingly intractable problems of poverty and
inequity. Social and economic development has not kept pace with the wants and hopes of a
young and impatient people. At the same time, all around us in our region of the world,
countries are growing rapidly, propelled largely by the energy of private enterprise. The
Philippines lags behind most of them.

But the problems conceal some real achievements and opportunities that, it sustained, could
lead a society into an era of stability and prosperity. Among these are an open democratic
system that is diffusing economic and political power to the countryside, a growing private
sector that is becoming more sensitive to the need for faster social development even as it
strives for greater efficiency and a population that has a passion for education. The aim in
EDCOM is to make education a tool for attaining the goals of social justice, unity, freedom and
prosperity.

It is believed that educational should produce a Filipino who respects human rights, whose
personal discipline is guided by spiritual ad moral values, who can think critically and creatively,
who can exercise responsible his rights and duties as a citizen, whose mind is informed by
science and reason, and whose mind is in formed by knowledge of Philippine history and
cultural heritage.

Refocus education that it may attain the following :

Universal basic education which will make ever citizen functionally literate and numerate.

Formation of those skills and knowledge necessary to make the individual a productive member
of society.

Development of high level professional who will search after new knowledge, instruct the young
and provide leadership in the various fields or disciplines required by a dynamic economy.

To achieve these goals, it is need to redefine the objectives, makes Philippine educational
institutions and muster the will to support education to the fullest extent possible.[20]

The EDCOM report reiterates that “basic education is the right of every citizen,” that the
constitution requires the higher budgetary priority to education, and that quality education be
made available to every citizen.[21]

The underlying educational Philosophy

Philosophy of basic education

In the explanatory note to the basic educational bill, basic education would consist of the 10
year elementary and secondary education with an option to have 11 years upon the addition of
grades 7 in 1998 to be determined by an ad hoc legislative – executive body to be vested for the
purpose.

Basic education is seen as a means to:

Distribute national resources equitably.

It is the thinking of Congress that providing basic education for the great majority of people
living in the rural communities

– will enhance rural development.

– Household will be more productive

– People will acquire skills they need to become more self reliant

– They will have a better access to information

– They will develop personal discipline and inter-personal skills

– They will be better able to appreciate their environment and exploit resources available to
them.

– They will be better able to participate in the various activities in a democratic society.
However basic education cannot be designed to produce prepared graduates who can succeed
in the mainstream of competitive production in this globalization era. It can provide only the
fundamental skills needed for further education in College or elsewhere. Therefore the Technical
and Vocational education should be considered.

Philosophy of technical-Vocational Education

The Philosophy of Technical and Vocational Education stated on SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy,
Republic Act No. 7796, 1994, as follows :

– I t is hereby declared the policy of the State to provide relevant, accessible, high quality and
efficient technical education and skills development in support of the development of high
quality Filipino middle-level manpower responsive to and in accordance with Philippine
development goals and priorities.

– The State shall encourage active participation of various concerned sectors, particularly
private

enterprises, being direct participants in and immediate beneficiaries of a trained and skilled
workforce, in providing technical education and skills development opportunities.

Whereas the objectives of the Technical and Vocational Education states on the SEC. 3.
Statement of Goals and Objectives. - It is the goal and objective of this Act to:

Promote and strengthen the quality of technical education and skills development programs to
attain international competitiveness;

Focus technical education and skills development on meeting the changing demands for quality
middle-level manpower;

Encourage critical and creative thinking by disseminating the scientific and technical knowledge
base of middle-level manpower development programs;

Recognize and encourage the complementary roles of public and private institutions in technical
education and skills development and training systems; and

· Inculcate desirable values through the development of moral character with emphasis on
work ethic, self-discipline, self-reliance and nationalism.[22]

The old term “ Technical – Vocational Education” has been given a new name, which was “
technical Education and Skills development” both term have the same meaning. The
fundamental philosophy that threads through the policy statement and the stated objectives of
TESD pertains to rationalizing the programs of technical, Vocational and technological Schools
in line with the man power need of Industry. These programs are at the post high school, or
tertiary level but non degree granting, the duration range from 6 months to 3 years, and must
be Internationally competitive.
Philosophy of Higher Education

The declaration of Policy of Republic Act No. 7722, 1999, Article 3. Declaration of Policy –
requires The State shall protect, foster and promote the right of all citizens to affordable quality
education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to ensure that education shall be
accessible to all.

It also specifies :

That The State shall likewise ensure and protect academic freedom and

shall promote its exercise and observance for

the continuing learning and research,

the development of responsible and effective leadership,

the education of high-level and middle-level professionals, and

the enrichment of our historical and cultural heritage.

It also mandates , State–supported institutions of higher learning shall gear their programs to
national, regional or local development plans. Finally, all institutions of higher learning shall
exemplify through their physical and natural surrounding the dignity and beauty of, as well as
their pride in the intellectual and scholarly life[23].

Affordable Quality

The Concept of affordable quality in all level of education as a right of every Filipino citizen is a
reiteration of earlier statements. Affordability at the Tertiary level is a mandate which, if earnestly
pursued, will require increasing state subsidies for the programs of higher education institutions.
Quality higher education is costly, and most parents cannot afford the increasingly high cost of
increasingly better quality higher education, unless the economy affords them much higher
income than what they now earn. In other words, there are two requirements that would make
quality higher education affordable to all Filipinos, namely :

Substantial Government subsidy, to include the private schools which enroll the bigger number
of college level students

A Prosperous economy the benefits of which are equitably shared among all.

Accessibility

Affordable quality higher education, may not necessarily be accessible to all, only those who are
deemed qualified and who meet admission requirements in the various degree programs may
have right of access to higher education. Moreover, it would not be wise to perpetuate the free
market in higher education, including anyone can enter any course program in the name of
academic freedom.
Academic Freedom

The mandated assurance and protection of academic freedom has become a classic tenet of
Filipino educational philosophy. Academic freedom was meant only for state supported
institution of higher learning in the 1935 Constitution. Now, it applies to private colleges and
University as well. The responsibility of ensuring and protecting academic freedom now devolves
upon the commission of higher education (CHED).

Advancement of Learning and research

This is one of the traditional functions of higher education, part of the classic trilogy of
instruction, research and extension. This function, however, has been relatively low-key and even
neglected in the past, also at present. Part of the reason is lack of funds for research projects
and for the publication of the results. So, while the frontiers of learning has been pushed
aggressively in the more advanced countries, the Philippines was the convenient dumping
ground for books is low-priority in higher education. It has been so much easier to import
western books, a habit which started with American colonization when the public schools all
over the united states. For one thing, there were no Pilipino writers of English textbooks until the
Osias readers appeared. Camilo oasis was among the first Filipino pensionados sent to study in
the united states. Moreover, there were no local publishing houses at the time.

– Development of responsible leadership.

This goes hand-in-hand with the education of high-level and middle-level professionals. It is
from the country’s pool of professionals that leaders emerge. Responsible leadership, however,
is a function of higher education and society itself. It has been well said that society gets the
leadership it deserver. A corrupt society gets corrupt leaders because it rubs off its corruption on
even the most idealistic leaders unless they have the courage and determination to resist the
temptation to be corrupted.

The development of responsible leadership is, therefore a tremendous challenge for the new
commission on higher education to bring to closer reality. It will require nothing less than for
them who are involved in it to be exemplars of responsible leadership.

What is responsible leadership? The law does not give it a definition. In fact, of the three laws
that restructure the educational system into three systems, the higher education law is the only
one without a definition of terms. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to have a basis for
understanding in the meaning of responsible leadership, especially in a society where the
concept of responsibility is dominated and dwarfed by self-interest abetted by political and
family patronage.

– Enrichment of the Filipino historical and cultural heritage.

This is the last mandate of the higher education law. What is to be enriched? What exactly is the
Filipino’s historical heritage? What is his cultural heritage?

In the first place, Philippine historical accounts are full inaccuracies and distortions. The use of
“Filipino” has itself been questioned by discerning critics who say that the term is in honor of
king Philippe II of Spain, and is not appropriate for a people who abetted such oppression or
gave it royal permissiveness. These critics also think that the people who antedated the
colonizers and were deprived inclusion within the term, Filipino, but were called indio, instead,
cannot be party to the Spanish decision to honor one of their kings.

There are many things unique about the Filipino culture, his way of speaking, of relating with
other peoples, and of going about what he has to do, whether in the home, in church, in
mosque, in school, in the workplace on in the playing field, the Filipino is distinguishable. He has
developed cultural traits and institutions which have become parts of his traditions, rituals and
lifestyle. He sings even when he sad. He defers to the pursuing his goals in life. He can be taken
for his word of honor. His ability to adjust, even to adversity, is the object of praise even from
those who have employed Filipino workers abroad. In the field of arts, he has natural aptitude
for appreciating and depicting, beauty, dance, good music and artistry in visual or verbal form.

Thus, Higher education, as much as the other level of education, has the twin responsibility of
(1) preserving and strengthening the best of the amalgamated Philippine culture and (2)
reforming those that have become derisive and inimical to Filipino honor and dignity.

Joseph Ejercito Estrada

- Joseph E Estrada was the only Philippine president who approached the issue of education
with more pragmatism than any of his predecessors. In his inaugural address, President Joseph
Ejercito Estrada boldly pronounced: “Hindi kayang bigyan ng edukasyon ang lahat ng kabataang
Pilipino, tulad ng itinatadhana ng Saligang Batas.” (We cannot provide education for all Filipino
youth, as promised by the Constitution.)

The apparent pessimism of that statement, however, is belied by a commitment President

Estrada made in the same speech: “Sa abot ng aking makakaya, bibigyan natin ang masa ng
disenteng tahanan.…Pag-aaralin natin ang kanilang mga anak.” (To the best of my ability, we will
give the masses decent homes.…We will put their children through school.)[24]

Although the focus was Agricultural development, but the whole aspects of Education was the
high priority of the National development of President Estrada administration, which is the only
machine to succeed his anti poverty and high productive man power programs.

The Estrada administration reiterates and supports the orientation of lifelong “ Education for all
“, including education for the disabled and disadvantage sectors of society. they have
consistently pursued the implementation of the plan of action for “ Education for all “ in close
with Government and non Government organizations. There was an action plan which strongly
supports the implementation of Science education programs under “ Education for all “, which
most of the educational action plan during Estrada administration was reasonably adopted from
the former President Fidel V Ramos.

In order to maximize and succeed the main objective of his administration, education and
training was included in his medium term development;

Targeting development programs toward certain areas or groups that suffer from persistent
poverty. The focus of such programs should be on investments that expand the opportunities of
the individuals to pull themselves out of poverty. Such interventions may include compensating
poor households of the direct and indirect costs of educating their children, providing basic
health services, creating links to markets as outlets for farm productions, reducing travel time to
off-farm jobs and schools, and designing effective micro-credit schemes;

Easing skills differentials. Very often inequality is largely driven by overall skills differentials
among the poor and the non-poor. Educational reforms that aim to help people climb the skill
ladder and enhance their lifetime earnings potential should be included in the proposed action
plan. The goal should be to achieve broader and more equal access to secondary schooling. This
may require scholarships for poorer students. It will also require focused efforts to ensure that a
highly skilled, particularly in science and technology, labor force is available to support a
globally integrated economy; and

Instituting programs to help households manage insecurity. Unemployment, disability, and old
age are all-important causes of poverty in industrial and developing countries alike, and of
deeper poverty for the poor. The mechanisms of coping with insecurity involve some
combination of private savings, informal support systems, and employer obligations. The action
plan will need to include such mechanisms.

Robert E Penauin wrote that Estrada even went a step further when he appealed to Congress to
“find a way to convert pork into tuition subsidies in both public and private schools.” Whether
Congress will heed his appeal is uncertain. Its members are currently entitled to a Countryside
Development Fund, Congressional Initiative Allocations, and Public Works Allocations, an
aggregate amount of 30.5 billion pesos more popularly known as pork barrel. President Estrada
has repeatedly announced his intention of abolishing the congressional pork barrel-earning the
ire of a sizeable section of Congress.

Still, President Estrada’s statement reveals his unmistakable commitment to an education system
worthy of the hopes of millions who voted for probably the most popular president since
Magsaysay. Whether that commitment holds can only be assessed at the end of Estrada’s term.
For the moment, the discourse on the issue, given the new president’s realistic perspective, will
have to proceed beyond the rhetoric of “education for all”-or EFA, in the language of the
academic world.
Unfortunately he finally impeached because of the political unfair competition, and of course he
cannot implemented what he and his cabinet members would like to do for better Philippine,
especially in education for all program action. The most important thing to be remembered was
his innovative idea for national education “Debt for Education “ which has been proposed by the
Secretary of Education to the UNESCO.

Projects/ Plans of the past administration to resolve

the problems in educational system
CORY AQUINO
- RA 6655- Free public secondary education act of 1988

-RA 6728 Government assistance to students and teachers in private education (GASTPE)

 Educational Service Contracting Scheme-decongest public secondary schools by

“contracting” the excess capacities of private high schools through the provision of
subsidies for students who, otherwise, would have gone to the public high schools
 Education Voucher System-aims to decongest the overcrowded public high schools
by awarding vouchers to students in DepEd-identified priority areas
 Teacher Salary Subsidy-ESC participating school teachers who have updated licenses
from the Professional Regulation Commission are entitled to the P12,000 a year
subsidy

-Proded (program for decentralized educational development) –aimed to reduce the disparity in
allocation of educational resources and services

-Adoption of education for all (EFA)

 Institutionalization of early childhood care and development.

 Universalization of quality primary education.
 Eradication of illiteracy.
 Continuing education and development.

-The congressional commision on education, popularly (EDCOM) reported in 1991-

 division of DECS into the department of basic education (DPE), Technical

education and skills development authoriity (TESDA), and Commission on hiher
education (CHED).
 Establishment of teacher education center of excellence; professionalization of
teachers.
  Technical-vocational education reform.
 The dropout intervention program.
 The accelerated learning program for elementary school (ALPS) – to address the
needs of the gifted and the disabled.
 Productivity enhancement of education project (PEEP) for rural barangay folk.
 Implementation and formulation of values education framework.
 The moblie text schools.
 Project IMPACT-instructional management by parents, community and teachers.
 Republic act 7323- provided that students aged 15-25 can work during christmas
and summer vacations

FIDEL V. RAMOS
-RA 7687 in 1994- the science and technology scholarship law

-RA 7686 the law on dual-tech traaining of 1994- a training modality that combines theoretical
and practical training. It is called dual training because learning takes place alternately in two
venues: the school or training center and the company or workshop.

-RA 7731 –an act abolishing the national college entrance examination

-RA 7796- TESDA

-RA 7722-CHED

-RA 7784- law establishing centers of excellence in teachers education

-RA 7743-establishing municipal libraries and barangay reading centers

-RA 8496-Philippine science high school system

-RA 8525-adopt a school program

ERAP
-Presidential commission on educational reform (PCER)- the task of the PCER id to come up with
a “budget-feasible” program of reforms and policy recommendations on education, including
proposals to be submitted to congress

-rationalization of the moratorium period of the creation and conversion of state colleges and
universities (SUCs)

-proposed the one year pre-baccalaureate system- is a highly selective program for rising or
recently graduated High School Seniors ready to undertake the rigors of credit-bearing.
undergraduate study.

-required masters degree for teaching in college

-return to english as medium of instruction

-restoration of the GMRC (good manners and right conduct) curriculum

-updrading of the maritime education standards

-use of lingua franca or vernacular in grade 1

GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO

-ladderized education program- president gloria macapagal-arroyo signedd the executive order
no. 358

Fidel Valdez Ramos

-President Fidel V. Ramos is sharing his thoughts on Philippine basic education.

In "Empowering the Filipino People", the first of two parts of his article on the 2012 Education
Forum for Asia (EFA), Ramos writes:

The bottomline for all our leaders and concerned Filipinos is that, whatever be their level or
quality of education (if any), NO FILIPINO CHILD OR YOUNGSTER SHOULD BE DEPRIVED OF
EDUCATION AS A HUMAN RIGHT.

WE STILL HAVE TOO MANY CHILD BEGGARS, HOMELESS URCHINS, KID VENDORS, AND STREET
CHILDREN – ALL OF WHOM DESERVE TO BE IN SCHOOL, REGARDLESS OF THEIR FAMILY
INCOME, SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS, CULTURAL-ETHNIC ORIGIN, OR GEOGRAPHIC
ISOLATION.

IN THE 21ST CENTURY, TO BE OUT-OF-SCHOOL AT A YOUNG, FORMATIVE AGE EQUATES TO A

LIFE OF POVERTY, HARDSHIP, AND EVEN CRIME.

Ramos likewise notes a comparison between China's efforts and DepEd's K to 12:

Among the most impressive (although “elementary”) components of EFA observed by Philippine
delegations since our initial participation in 2003 was the presentation on the primary education
of China’s children, starting at 4 years of age – which deals more with values than the usual
school curriculum of reading, writing, language, arithmetic, health, and music subjects.

China’s is the more comprehensive equivalent of our new DepEd K-12 program, with the PRC’s
special focus on values, science/technology, and culture (which areas are still “weak” in the
Philippine system). The philosophy behind all this – which is to maximize benefits from
education by investing more in children during their younger (instead of later) years – is not
new.

These ideas are indeed not new, yet DepEd's K to 12 refuses to follow what other countries have
learned regarding basic education. DepEd's K to 12 ignores what international exams in math
and sciences are telling Filipinos. Instead of focusing on the early years and strengthening
elementary education, DepEd chooses to spread its limited resources into the later years of basic
education.

It is not a lack of awareness regarding what problems truly plague the educational system in the
country. Ramos also notes:

While tiny elites among our peoples get first-rate university education, the majority fail to
receive quality basic education (if at all). Leaders, educators, economists, and social scientists
around the world know how a stagnant economy, sub-standard education, shorter life
expectancy, and mass poverty are parts of the same vicious cycle of national non-performance.
This is well-recognized by Malacañang, academic experts, teaching professionals, lawmakers,
and LGU officials.

The recognition is there - Officials seem to simply ignore the real problems.