Background
Country: Republic of the Philippines
Capital: Manila
Population: 92,337,852
Flag: the Philippines flag is bicolor consisting of two horizontal bands of red below and blue on top, with a white triangle on its hoist side. There are three stars surrounding a sun on the white triangle.
Area: 300,000 km2
Currency: Peso
GDP: $4,214 per capita
Ethnic Groups: there are several ethno linguistic groups in the Philippines, whose major language is Austronesian. The ethnic groups include Ilocano, Kapampangan, Cebuano, Pangasinense, Bicolano, Waray and Tagalog.
Life expectancy:71.66 years, male- 68.72 years, female- 74.74 years
Literacy rate: 93.4%
Governmental education expenditure: in 2008- 16.9% while in 2009- 15.0%
Age structure:
The Philippines is situated at the western edge of the pacific ocean along the ring of fire. The country is the second largest archipelago with more than 7,100 islands within its borders. The inhabitants of the Philippines majorly speak two languages, Filipino and english, which are considered the official languages (Leon, 2011). However, there are about 175 individual languages in the country, with Filipino being a de Facto of Tagalog mostly spoken in Metro Manila and urban areas. Education, government broadcast media all utilize english and Filipino as official languages. Moreover, other languages designated by the Philippines constitution are Cebuano, Ilacano, Bicolano, Kapampangan, Hiligaynon, Tagalog, Waray, and Pangasinan. There are other languages, but these are used in certain provinces. The biggest city in the Philippines is Quezon City, and it has the largest population. Manila comes second in population density, even though it is the capital of the country. Caloocan is the third largest city with a huge population but not exceding the first two cities (Labog, 2012).
Major Industries in the Philippines
The Philippines is mainly known for manufacture industries, which occupy a vast area of the country’s productive land. The manufacturing sector distributes its outputs among consumer, intermediate and capital goods, with consumer goods getting the highest percentage than others. The dominant consumer goods sub- sector are the wearing apparel, footwear, food and beverages and tobacco industries. In case of intermediate goods, petroleum and coal, chemicals and personal care products take the lead (Labog, 2012). Capital goods are represented by electronics, significantly steel and iron, and semiconductors. Mineral resources also form part of the Philippines industrial sectors. The country’s constitution allows for foreign mining companies to work within its borders. Agriculture is also an income making sector for some Philippine residents. They mainly deal in agricultural products like corn, coconut, rice, and sugar. The country once led in sugar and coconut oil export, in the foreign markets, but with time declined. Moreover, livestock and poultry have enabled the new development and growth of the agricultural sector. Construction industry sustains the economic growth of the Philippines. This sector, however, operates as private, since the investors are private and not governmental (Hayen and Reyes, 2012).
Education History
The Philippines education transitioned from the pre- Spanish education to the present time education system. There is a strict time line for the development of the Philippine education including before the coming of Spaniards, during the Spaniard regime, during Philippine revolution and American occupation. Afterwards, there came the Philippine common wealth, the Japanese occupation, after the world war two and lastly the education under the Philippine republic.
Ancient Filipino and the Spaniard Regime Education
The historical Philippine education was not formal as it depended on practical, oral and hands- on techniques. The educational type was meant to promote reverence and adoration of Bathala, respect for customs, laws and the authorities. Arrival of the Spaniards further enhanced the education of the Philippines, as they encountered some islanders who had an idea of how to read and write. Arrival of Spaniards led to the introduction of parochial schools that were linked to churches where people were taught catechism (Labog, 2012). The Spaniards gave the Philippines instructions in the form of dialects, and their method of education was well managed, controlled and fully supervised by the Spaniards. However, the education by then was not uniform since most of the people did not find it fascinating. The Spaniard regime involved no grade levels because the school system was never structured nor hierarchical. The Spaniard regime experienced serious problems, for example, lack of teachers, trained instructors, funds, instructor materials and school facilities.
The Philippine Revolution Education
High level schools were later established through the virtue of royal decrees like Beaterios and Colegios. The royal decree schools taught subjects like history, mathematics, philosophy, geography, languages and psychology. The Philippine revolution introduced a lot of positive educational advancements in to the lives of the Philippine residents. The school curricular were reformed, and several changes were made on the education system. Philippine revolution introduced secularization of education, improved high learning centers, and education system. the education concentrated more on natural sciences and curriculum was designed appropriately (Hayen and Reyes, 2012). The curricular discouraged disproportinate religious teachings, irrelevant courses discourage Spanish speaking among the Filipino students and avoid pedagogical skills. School levels were later introduced with nursery, primary and secondary levels being the lowest. New subjects were taught, and the students got to know a lot of new ideas. Subjects like law, music, and social sciences were also introduced in the curricular. The educational system in the Philippines today can be described as being distressed this is because they were taught how to write and read well, and how to pray (Labog, 2012). However, the students were not provided with the opportunity to grasp how to work, and were advised never to go to work.
The American Regime Education
Americans changed the entire picture of the education sector in the Philippines. They utilized education as a vector for the assimilation of its own program. The American soldiers became the first extremely serious teachers in the Philippine schools. Their first step into educational revolution involved restoration of damaged school buildings, and building new ones. The soldiers also helped in conducting classes for students (Leon, 2011). With time, trained teachers replaced the American soldiers and the Filipinos, for once started embracing their new teachers and teaching system. the American regime led to the introduction of many new ideologies, for instance, the teachers infused the spirit of liberty and democracy among the students. They were also taught the importance of progress which was in several cases accompanied by fair play. This system discarded religious bias practices and encouraged the Filipino students to engage in teaching fields. American curricular included a lot of new learning ideas and subjects. For example, hygiene and sanitation, civics, reading and spelling, grammar and composition, physiology, sciences, and GMRC were the principal component subjects of primary and intermediate school levels (Hayen and Reyes, 2012). The Philippine government then decided on creating higher learning institutions for future teachers. Here, the students were taught proper ways of teaching, psychology, history and government, practical teaching, languages, social sciences and P.E.
The Philippine Common Wealth Era
During the Philippine common wealth, extensive rules and ideas were established and introduced in school systems. Common wealth established moral character, civic conscience, vocational efficiency and personal discipline among the students in schools. Citizens were also urged to practice democratic and effective participation in society (Labog, 20112). Education became a relevant necessity in the Philippines and 1940 it became part of the laws of the country. the educational act was considered a demand for the public, but at the same time it complied with the mandate of the Philippine constitution about public education for all children.
The Japanese Occupation Education
The Japanese regime brought six substantial educational principles in the field. The regime introduced new order, where friendly relationship was created between the Philippines and the japan government. The regime also enhanced development of a Filipino based culture, in which case the morals of the people were raised by advising on the importance of avoiding materialism (Labog, 2012). The Japanese language also diffused into the Philippines during this time increasing numbers of languages of its residents. Vocational courses were introduced by this regime, where the spirit of neighborly love was incorporated among the people. The Japanese regime saw the elongation of school calender with no summer vacations allowed. More students enrolled to schools than before, and the classroom numbers increased to about 60 students per class. The regime also got rid of America teaching techniques through banning American songs in schools, deletion of America signs and symbols, pictures and poems, and also discouraging anti- Asian opinions or ideas. This regime failed after four years of outstanding trial and commitments.
The Post World War two Education
After the world war two, the Philippine education took a different direction. The educational system became more objective than before where it established an integrated, democratic and nationalistic approach. The new system inculcated spiritual and moral values among the students, and the teaching were God inspired. The system also aimed at developing patriotic, upright, useful and enlightened citizenry and the Philippine democratic society. Some of the objectives were also to conserve the country’s national resources, perpetuate desirable values and promote arts, sciences and letters among the Philippine student residents (Hayen and Reyes, 2012). Books were purchased and students accessed education materials more readily than before. The martial law period brought in the incorporation of education in government with the ministry of education, culture and sports being started. This era was characterized with bilingual education in which Filipino and english became the capital languages used in all Philippine schools. English language was majorly used to teach math, science and english language subjects where as other subjects were taught in Filipino.
Education in the Philippines Today
Philippine education is carried out in both the public and private schools, with the system being similar to that of the martial law era. However, the quality of education in public schools has been depreciating rapidly through the years. This has been caused by the low amount of sufficient fund for operating the schools. On the other hand, private schools are better off than public schools because of the much better facilities and education they offer to students. These schools are, however, much expensive and only affordable to a few individuals. Private schools in the Philippines include Chinese schools, non- sectarian schools, all- girls or all- boys schools, international schools and exceptional schools (Labog, 2011). The education sector in the country has experienced substantial economic difficulties in the past years. Therefore, this difficulty has enhanced the increase in the level of home schooling and the opening of public universities in the Philippines. Todays Philippine education follows the American system with english as the main language for instructions. Formal education in the country follows four key levels; pre- primary level, primary level, secondary level and college or university level. Primary level includes six years followed by four years in secondary school. College or level takes a minimum of four years, but some courses may go for to five to eight years with graduate schools can take two extra years (Leon, 2011). School classes in the country begin in June and end in March annually, with the college calender having semesters from June to October, then from November to March. There exist foreign schools in the Philippines, and they follow similar school programs as the local schools. The education level in the Philippines increased the literacy level of the country to 95.9% by 2003.
It is clear that education is public schools are weaker than private schools education. Filipinos begin elementary schools at 80%; however, the number decreases as they move higher with only 48% going to secondary schools. The books used in Philippine schools are not appropriate for education as they have numerous errors. Weak education in the country is due to the underdevelopment of the nation and poor educational facilities particularly in public schools. Poverty level is high thus affording private schools is difficult for a larger population (Labog, 2012). The country’s conditions, for instance, education gets worse yearly as compared to previous years because of unavailability of global leaders.
Experience
I interviewed a lady by the name of Lewi Lin who studied in the Philippines. She attended mixed public schools from elementary to primary, grades 1- 6. The schools consisted of, more girls than boys and the teachers were well trained to cultivate good manners in the students. The classes in her time were small consisting of about 15 to 20 pupils. They were taught subjects like GMRC where the students learnt how to become industrious, honest, clean and respectful. The teachers were both males and females with females being more than male teachers. Elementary school mainly taught the student’s general knowledge, but English, social studies and sciences were the main ones, and they were taught by the main teacher. There was punishment for pupils who could not read or write; they stood throughout the lesson. Noisy and naughty students were also punished by the teachers. Teachers used to supervise their school and class works, assignments and projects. Miss Lin was not active in sports since she was sick and the doctor advised her not to engage in vigorous activities. However, she participated in art and music, particularly in the choral groups. The students also did some non educational activities like cleaning the school premises like cutting grass. The school had a few trips and she once went to the Coca-Cola manufacturing plant.
The school days were five per week with each day lesson beginning at 7.30 in the morning. The morning lessons ran from 7.30 to 11.30. However, before the classes, there was a flag ceremony where the students said a prayer and sang the Philippine national anthem. The classes had wooden desks, with two pupils on one seat. Her favorite subject was English because other subjects were taught using English. She had both a favorite and worst teacher in school. The school washrooms were not highly developed, but they served the rightful purposes. Parents were extremely much involved in students school work and cases of a problem with a pupil parents were called. Studying was quite challenging because there was no electricity or Internet. Studying was done using candles. Secondary school was more advanced than the primary school. Going to school was on foot since it was near to her home, but at times she could get a ride on an advanced motorcycle. Her tertiary education was free since she had a scholarship, but she had to purchase her own books.
Questions
Was your school mixed?
What subjects were you taught in school?
What was your daily school routine like?
What were your favorite subjects?
Did you have any school trips?
What age were you when you finished secondary education?
Was college education free?
How were your schools teachers like?
Did you study music and art in school?
Did they punish you in school?
How did you qualify to enter the university?
Reflection
The interview and study of the Philippine education shows that the system is not as developed as others in the world. The education system is rather difficult since the resources are not available. Students have to work hard and achieve their best in exams and school subjects. Promotion to next grades in done by merit and the naughty students are often subject to punishments. Teachers try their best to ensure students get the best out of their teaching sessions. They incorporate good morals in to the students to make them prominent people in the future. However, it is clear that most Filipinos do not attend school because of poverty. School fee is a problem particularly in higher levels of education, which makes many children to stay out of school. It is, however, significant to note that although the country experiences great poverty levels among its residents, they are trying hard to give their children the best education they can afford.
References
Hayen, K. and Reyes, C. (2012). Education in the Philippines, brentreview. Retrieved 25 January
2012, from
<http://review.brentsubic.edu.ph/2012/05/education-in-the-philippines/>
Labog, M (2012). Historical Foundation of Philippine Education. Retrieved 25 January 2012,
from
<http://www.slideshare.net/?ss>
Leon, M. V. (2011). Philippine Education Ranked Poor. Retrieved 25 January 2012,
from
< http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business>
