COMMON PROBLEMS AND ACTIONS TAKEN IN THE PHILIPPINE EDUCATION SYSTEM Anecito Zito Gorduiz Galdo, MA The current

major issues in education policy worldwide are premised on the interrelated aspects of a new philosophy of education that has evolved 1990 Jomtien Document of United Nations Education, Scientific, Cultural Organization (UNESCO); (2) Development of the Full Potential of Human Beings, , enunciated by the UNESCO International Commission on Education for the 21st Century and articulated in its 1996 Report as the four pillars of education: Learning to Know, Learning to Do, Learning to Be, and Learning to Work Together; and (3) Lifelong Learning for All, enunciated in the 1997 Hamburg Declaration of the 5th International Conference on Adult Education. Together, they spell out a philosophy of education for the 21st century, as articulated by UNESCO. The 1990 EFA document called for education for all to meet the basic learning needs of all our people by expanding learning opportunities for children, youth and adults, making primary education universal and working for a fully literate society. Translated into policy directions, EFA focused on early childhood development, universalization of quality primary education, and adult literacy and continuing education. In 1997, the emerging philosophy was expanded still further by the Hamburg Declaration, with its emphasis on continuing adult learning summarized comprehensively under 10 thematic headings: (1) democratic participation, (2) improving the condition and quality of adult learning, (3) ensuring universal right to literacy and basic education, (4) gender equality, equity and the empowerment of women, (5) adult learning and the hanging world of work, (6) learning in relation to the environment, health and population, (7) culture, media and new information technologies, (8) the rights and aspirations of different groups (e.g. migrants, displaced population, the aged and disabled, etc), (9) the economics of adult learning, and (10) enhancing international cooperation and solidarity. All the aforementioned initiatives were the bases in the actions taken by the government in response to the pressing problems of the Philippine education system as reflected in the following table:

2 Common Problems Access to Basic Education Actions Taken Education for All (EFA) Establishment of Schools Social Reform Agenda (SRA) Non-formal Education (NFE) Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) Third Elementary Education Project (TEEP) Secondary Education Development Project (SEDP) Lengthening of School Days Establishment of Regional Science High Schools and New Science Curriculum National Elementary Achievement Test (NEAT) and National Secondary Achievement Test (NSAT) Ten-Year Master Plan for Basic Education (19962005) Pre-school Program Dropout Intervention Program Increased Budget for Education Creating item position for teachers Multigrade Schooling Program RA 8047 (Book Publishing Industry Development) Two-to-Three Shifts of Classes Decentralization of Educational Management

Quality of Basic Education

Low budget, High Enrollment Shortage of Teachers Shortage of Textbooks Classroom Shortage and more Underinvestment in Education

As disclosed by the previous investigations on the state of education in the Philippines, problems like access to basic education, quality of basic education, low budget with high enrollment, shortage of teachers, shortage of textbooks, of classrooms and more, and underinvestment in education continuously beset the system. There were various efforts and programs that the government undertook in order to somehow address those problems. However, the same problems occur and relate with another problem. The surging poverty amongst people adds up to the existing and continuing handicap to development that we encounter. This contributes to the problem on access to education. Access to education and its corollary mechanisms of selection are processes of distribution of educational provision and opportunities. They are usually analyzed in conjunction with the structure of educational provision as defined by the structure of education system. Access is understood from the point of view of individuals wanting to enter the education system (who wants to be educated and where). Selection is understood from the point of

view of structural mechanisms (for example, admission requirements, tuition fee structures, completion rates) which may be relatively open or closed. All the studies conducted by the government confirmed that while education system has been expanding, equity remains the major issue in the matter of educational provision. The ideal of universal free access to quality education has remained elusive. Though undoubtedly correct, this observation is tiresome in its repetitiveness. Indeed, this same observation had been made more than a decade ago (Doronila, 1989).

References: Doronila, MLC. 1989. Improving Access to Education. In Access to Education: Issues and Alternatives. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University, Center for Social Policy and Public Affairs. Lifelong Learning: The Agenda for the Future. Declaration of the UNESCO International Adult Education CONFINTEA. 1997. Hamburg: UNESCO Institute of Education. UNESCO. 1990. Document: World Conference on Education for All. Jomtien, Thailand. UNESCO. 1996. Four Pillars of Education. France: Paris. UNESCO. 1997. Document: 5th International Conference on Adult Education. Hamburg: UNESCO Institute of Education.