RESEARCH WORK

IN EDUCATIONAL
TECHNOLOGY
SUBMITTED BY: GENIE MAE
PRANADA

SUBMITTED TO:

COMMON PROBLEMS AND ACTIONS TAKEN IN

THEPHILIPPINE 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 evolved1990 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 21
st
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 1997Hamburg Declaration of the 5
the
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 one
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:

PROBLEM AND ACTION TAKEN

problem: Access to Basic Education

action : for All (EFA)Establishment of Schools
Social Reform Agenda (SRA)Non-formal
Education (NFE)Philippine Educational
Placement Test (PEPT)
problem: Quality of
Basic Education
action: 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 (1996-2005)Pre-school
Program Dropout Intervention Program
problem : Low budget, High
Enrollment
Action : Increased Budget for Education
Shortage of Teachers Creating item position
for teachers Multigrade Schooling Program

Shortage of Textbooks
RA 8047 (Book Publishing Industry
Development)
Classroom Shortage and more Two-toThree Shifts of Classes
Underinvestment in Education
Decentralization of Educational Management

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.
Imp
roving 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: 5
theInternational Conference on Adult Education. Hamburg: UNESCO
Institute of Education.