4. The Department of Education and
Culture
Article XV, Section 8 of the New Constitution (1973), states “All
educational institution shall be under the supervision of and subject
to regulation of the state.” The Department of Education and
Culture was created to carry out this constitutional mandate.
The Department was originally created by Act No. 74 of the
Philippine Commission on January 21, 1901. When the Jones Law was
passed in 1916, this department became one of the administrative
departments of the Insular Government and was placed under the
control and supervision of the Vice-Governor General.
5. Upon the reorganization of the National Government as
embodied in the Executive Order No. 94. The Department of
Public Instruction was renamed the Department of
Education headed by the Secretary of Education.
The President ordered the reorganization of the
government structure and functions, and with it the
Department of Education underwent a number of changes.
Its name was changed to Department of Education and
Culture to stress its major role in economic and cultural
development.
The Presidential Order of 1972, based on Presidential Decree
No. 1 abolished the Bureau of Public Schools, Bureau of
Private Schools, and the Bureau of Vocational Education. The
function of the three Bureaus were transferred to the newly
created bureaus under Department of Education and
Culture.
6. Under this Presidential Order, an Institute of Arts and
Letters is to be created and be placed under the
Department of Education and Culture. Likewise, the
name of the Board of National Education was changed
to the National Board of Education.
The present organization of the Department of
Education and Culture consists of the Department
proper composed of the immediate Office of the
Secretary, the Planning Service, the Financial and
Management Service, Information and Publication
Service, and Administrative Service.
7. The newly organized Department of Education and Culture
will be responsible for developing and implementing
programs of education and culture based on the general
objectives and policies formulated by the National Board of
Education. The Secretary of Education and Culture is the
supreme authority in education and culture. He is assisted by
the Under-Secretary. The ten divisions in the Department
have been reduced to four services, namely: 1. Planning, 2.
Financial and Management, 3. Administrative, 4. Information
and Public Service
8. Besides exercising general executive supervision over all the bureaus and
offices under the department, the Secretary performs certain duties
specially prescribed by law. Section 78B-79D of the Revised Administrative
Code gives the following as the powers of the Department Head:
The Department Head shall have the power to
promulgate, whenever he may see fit to do
so, regulations, orders, circulars, memoranda, and other instruction
not contrary to law, necessary to regulate the proper working and
harmonious and efficient administration of each and all the offices
and dependencies of his Department and for the strict
enforcement and proper execution of the laws relative to the
matters under the jurisdiction of said Department.
The Department shall have direct control, direction, and
supervision overall business affairs under his jurisdiction and
may, notwithstanding any provision of existing law to the
contrary, repeal or modify the decisions of the chief of said Bureaus
or offices when advisable in the public interest.
9. The Department Head may order the investigation of any
act or conduct of any person in the service of any bureau or
office under the department and in the connection
therewith, may appoint a committee or designate an official
or person who shall conduct such investigation; and such
committee, official, or person may summon witnesses by
subpoena and subpoena “Ducestecum”, administer oaths
and takes testimony relevant to the investigation.
The Department Head, upon the recommendation of the
chief of the bureau or office concerned, shall have the
power to appoint all subordinate officers and employees
whose appointments are not expressly vested by law, and
remove or punish them except as specially provided
otherwise, in accordance with the Civil Service Law.
10.
11. Functions of the Secretary of the
Department of Education and
Culture
12. Beside exercising general executive supervision overall the
bureau and offices under the Department, the Secretary
performs certain duties specially prescribed by the
Presidential Decree NO. 1 Section 8,1 states the following as
the functions of the Secretary of Education and Culture:
Advise the President in the promulgation of executive
orders, regulations, and decrees relative to matters under
jurisdiction of the Department;
Establishes the policies and standards for the operation of
the Department pursuant to the President’s program of
government;
13. Promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out
department objectives, policies, and functions;
Exercise supervision and control over all bureaus and
offices under the Department;
Delegate authority for the performance of any function
to officers and employees under his direction ; and
Exercise general supervision over chartered state
colleges and universities.
14. Functions of the Undersecretary of the Department
of Education and Culture
Section 8.2 of the Presidential Decree No. 1 gives the
following as the functions of the Undersecretary of the
Department of Education and Culture:
Advice and assist the Secretary in the formulation and
implementation of department objectives and policies;
Oversee all the operational activities of the Department for
which he shall be responsible for the secretary;
Coordinate the programs and projects of the Department
and be responsible for its economical, efficient, and effective
administration;
Serve as deputy to the Secretary in all matters relating to the
operations of the department ; and
Perform such other function as may be provided by law.
17. 1. The Professional Boards- are composed of the Board of
Medical Education, Council of Dental Education, and
Council of Medical Technology. The Professional Boards
shall have uniform powers and functions in prescribing
policies, and regulations formulated by these Boards are
subject to the concurrence of the Secretary of Education
and Culture. The main function of the different Boards is
to prescribe minimum requirements for their respective
professional courses.
18. 2. The textbook Board-the members of the Board are
required to have at least a Master’s degree. The function
of Textbook Board shall be limited only to the selection
and approval of suitable textbooks to be used in both
public and private elementary and secondary schools. In
other words, its functions are limited to books for use in
the elementary and secondary schools, both public and
private schools of elementary and secondary levels.
19. 3. Planning Service-The planning Service was created in the
Department of Education and Culture for educational planning.
The planning Service will be responsible for providing the
Department of Education and Culture with
economical, efficient, and effective services relating to
planning, programming; and project development. In other
words, the Planning Service shall be responsible for
planning, research, project development and education and
culture. To accomplish the said major functions, the Planning
Service shall have a Planning and Programming Division, a
Project Development and Evaluation Division, and Research
and Statistics Division with corresponding duties and
responsibilities.
20. 4. Financial and Management Service- shall be
responsible for providing the Department of Education
and Culture with staff advice and assistance on
budgetary, financial, and management improvement
matters. The Financial and Management Service shall
have a Budget and Accounting Division, a Management
Division, and a Special Education Fund Division with
corresponding duties and responsibilities.
21. 5. Administrative Service-shall be responsible for providing the
Department of Education and Culture with
Economical, efficient, and effective services relating to
personnel, legal
assistance, records, supplies, equipment, collection, disburse
ments, security, and custodial work. In other words, the
Administrative Service shall have charge of personnel, supplies
and equipment, and records. To carry on these functions the
Personnel Division, a Legal Division, a General Service
Division, and a Teacher Examination and Certification Division
were created with corresponding duties and responsibilities.
22. 6. Information and Publication Service-according to Section
12, the Information and Publication Service will implement
programs and projects designed to disseminate proper
information on the activities of the Department of Education
and Culture to the public and to all other concerned
agencies, both local and foreign. In other words, the
Information and Publication Service will be responsible for the
production instructional materials and the program of
information.
23. 7. The Board of Higher Education-is contemplated by the
Presidential Survey Commission. The Board formulates and
evaluates programs and scholarships and establish standards
at the tertiary level of education. It will also help the National
Board of Education and the Board of Examiners by providing
them with secretarial service.
8. The National Board of Education-Republic Act No. 1124
created the Board of National Education with 15 members
representing different interests. According to Section 5 of this
law, the Board “shall be the exclusive agency of the
government for the implementation of educational policies
and the direction of the educational interests of the
nation, subject only to the constitutional authority of the
President of the Republic over executive
departments, bureaus, and offices.”
24. Other Government Educational Agencies Where the
Secretary of Education and Culture is Connected
The National Council on Education- is the highest policy-making
body in education, with the Secretary of Education and Culture as
Chairman and the experts and representatives of various sectors
of the community as members.
The University of the Philippines- was created by Act No.
1870, passed on June 18, 1908, by the Philippine Legislature.
The Philippine Normal University-was organized under the
provision of Section 17 of Act No. 74 of the Philippine Commission.
It was later converted into a college by the Republic Act No. 921.
Central Luzon State University- was formerly the Central Luzon
Agricultural School and was converted into a college by Executive
Order No. 393, dated December 31, 1950. It was later on
converted into university status by Republic Act No. 4062
25. The Philippine College of Commerce- was converted into a
college by Republic Act No. 778.
Mindanao State University- was created by Republic Act
No, 1387
University of Eastern Philippines- was formerly the Samar
Institute of Technology which was established in the
municipality of Catarman, province of Samar.
Central Mindanao State University- was formerly the
Mindanao Agricultural College in the province of Bukidnon.
28. The Bureau of Elementary Education is headed by a
Director who is appointed by the President of the
Philippines. Section 910 of the Revised Administrative
Code of the Philippines (Act No. 2711) states the following
as the duties and powers of the Director of the Bureau of
the Public Schools, now the Bureau of Elementary
Education.
He shall establish primary schools in every town in the
Philippines, where practicable.
He shall have authority to establish night schools.
He shall fix the salaries of the teachers within the limits
established by law.
He shall fix the curricula for all schools under his
jurisdiction.
29. He shall prescribed the authority to be exercised by the
principal teacher of each school over teachers, if any, and
his duties as teacher actually engaged in the work of
instruction and in the caring of schoolhouses and school
property.
He shall prescribe rules for construction of schoolhouses to
be built by municipalities or provinces, and fix the area or
size of and required in each.
He shall prescribe the rules of hygiene to be observed in
connection with the schools of the islands.
30.
31. He shall have the power to determine the towns in which
teachers are to be paid out of National Treasury; shall
teach; and he may exercise this discretion in favor of
those towns which shall construct and maintain suitable
schoolhouses by local taxation and contribution.
He shall maintain in Manila, or elsewhere in the Philippine
islands, classes to furnish superior instruction to
teachers, as may by law, be allowed or established.
32. Aside from the above-mentioned duties and responsibilities of
the Director of the Bureau of Public Schools, the Director has
the power to assign any school superintendent or teacher to
any division or branch of the bureau as the exigencies of the
service may require.
The Service Manual of the Bureau of Public Schools (1927)
states the duties of the Assistant Director as follows:
Confers with the Director in the major policies of the
Bureau, such as instruction, curricula, measurement and
research, and other promotional activities.
Inspect public schools throughout the Philippines.
Takes charge of the Bureau in the absence of the Director.
33. Beside the duties stated in the previous slide, the Assistant
Director is in charge of the promotional activities of the
General Office as head of the Promotional Staff. He may
perform some of the powers and duties also of the Director
which may be delegated him.
Next in line to the Assistant Director is the Administrative
Officer who is appointed by the Secretary of Education and
Culture upon the recommendation of the Director of the
Bureau of Public Schools, now the Bureau of Elementary
Education. The Administrative Division is under his direct
supervision. Likewise, he handles mainly the administrative
matters of the General Office which do not involve policy.
34. Functions of the Different Divisions in the
Bureau of Elementary Education
1. Curriculum Development Division:
Formulate policies, plans, and programs for the preparation and
production of curricula inculcating objectives, instructional
methods and materials, and instrument to evaluate the result of
instruction in pre-elementary, elementary, and special education;
Undertakes researches and studies on the curriculum and make
appropriate proposals for improvement and upgrading;
Provide technical assistance on the use of the educational
media, audio-visual aids, and other forms of instructional
technology;
Design and propose the undertaking of pilot-type projects in the
elementary level on teaching techniques, classroom
materials, and other curricular innovations; and
Perform such other functions as may be provided by law
35. 2. Staff Development Division:
Develop plans and programs to upgrade and improve the quality of
teaching and non-teaching staff at the pre-elementary and elementary
level and in special schools;
Undertake a continuing assessment and evaluation of ongoing staff
development programs and make appropriate recommendations;
Provide expert assistance or consultative services for the undertaking of
seminars, workshops, and conference for upgrading purposes; and
Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.
3. Physical Facilities Division:
Formulate and recommend plans, programs, and projects to upgrade
school plant and equipment for pre-elementary, elementary, and special
schools;
Conduct studies and make proposals to improve the utilization and
insure the proper maintenance of school plant and equipment;
Formulate standards regarding the quality and quantity of physical
facilities and equipment for use at the elementary level; and
Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.
36. Elementary Education Defined
Our elementary school consists of Grades I to VII. This organization
plan was shorten to six years by Educational Act of 1940 which
eliminated Grade VII. Grade VII was restored by the Educational Act
of 1953, based on the Republic Act No. 896 Elementary schools are
also classified into primary grades (I-IV) and intermediate grades (V-
VII). Elementary schools are also classified to two types, one type
offering a general education curricula and the other type offering a
farming curricula. Republic Act No. 896, known as the Educational
Act of 1953, makes elementary education compulsory up to the
completion of Grade VII. This policy gives every Filipino child an
opportunity to acquire a complete elementary education.
39. Like the division superintendent, the principal teacher is an
administrator and a supervisor. The administrative duties of the
elementary school principal cover the following: planning the school
programs, systemizing the office work, maintenance of school
discipline, care of school grounds and buildings, care of school
property, making reports, filing forms, and attending to
correspondence. His administration of the school covers also the
enforcement of school polices, classroom observation, conferences
with teachers, test and measurement, teacher’s
meetings, demonstration classes, in-service training, direction of
school government, custody over pupil’s funds, opening and closing
schools, and eliminating hazards. They are the key government
officials that initiate, plan, and execute community-assemblies and
other public projects, and help organize and vitalize parent-teacher
associations, community councils, and other civic organizations that
work so hard in making community life more livable and
progressive.
40. An elementary school principal may be either national (Insular) or
national (municipal). The national (municipal), as well as the national
(city) elementary principal is appointed by the Superintendent by
authority of the Secretary of Education upon the recommendation
of the Director of Bureau of Public Schools. The national elementary
school principal is under the direct supervision of the district
supervisor. The city elementary school principal is appointed by the
superintendent by authority of the Secretary of Education with the
prior approval of the Director.
The Service Manual of the Bureau of Public Schools (3rd
revision, 1959), gives the following duties of the principal teacher:
He is the administrator, organizer, supervisor, and leader of the
school.
He makes friendly contacts with the municipal officials and the
school patrons.
He creates, on the part of the public and local officials, strong
support for public education
41. Some of the supervisory activities of the principal
teacher in the Philippine public and private schools
are the following:
Observation of the Teaching-Learning Situation
Conferences with Teachers
Demonstration Classes
Conducting Teacher’s Meeting
Acting as Civic Leader
Plant Management
42.
43. To be eligible for appointment as an elementary school
principal, one must be a graduate of the Bureau of Public
Schools’ normal school on the collegiate level, or a graduate
of the College of Education of the University of the
Philippines with an elementary teacher’s certificate or a
graduate of any other school offering equivalent
courses, with at least two years’ experience as an elementary
classroom teacher. A graduate of a normal school on the
secondary level with at least four years’ experience as an
elementary classroom teacher is also qualified for
appointment.
46. The line-and-staff school organization, by its very
nature, violates the basic principle of democracy. A
democratic form of administration and supervision
would give the students, teachers, parents, and all
others involved in carrying on education in the
schools, opportunity to help make plans and
decisions, to evaluate what has been done, and to make
necessary changes in curricula, procedures, and policies.
47. To democratize the line-and-staff school organization, any of
the following practices can be used:
While policies are set up by the General Office, local officials
should be given leeway to adopt such as actual needs and
conditions demand their implementation.
Permit the supervisors and teachers to experiment.
Encourage them to use method expressive of their
philosophy which they have developed through study and
practical experience. This will give them practice in using
their initiative, judgement, and constructive power.
Encourage the supervisors and teachers to make their own
time schedule, and use it flexibly. Help them to use it
intelligently and scientifically.
48. Encourage the supervisors and teachers to study children’s
individual needs. Help them overcome the idea that subject matter
as such is sacred and must be mastered. Eliminate office-made-test
or examinations and authoritative demands to what should be
covered.
Call on supervisors and teachers together when any question of
policy arises. Encourage them to present a course of
study, procedures, and policies; and ask for suggestions and help.
Accept their suggestion and encourage every effort for growth
and development.
Do not expect all teachers to change at the same tempo. Some will
always demand on others for suggestions and will resent having to
think and work –as they feel harder than before.
49.
50. In other words, school administration and supervision
will have to abandon its autocratic position and re-
orient its line-and-staff organization in favour of the
democratic organization which emphasizes respect for
human personality, shared responsibility, common
understanding, joint concern, local initiative, and
integrated action. The teachers should take part in
planning and execution of any school project as well as
in the evaluation of its result.
51. G.R. Koofman, A. Miel, and P. Misner suggest that
democratic administration should seek the following
priciples:
1. To facilitate the continuous growth of individual and social personalities by providing all
persons with opportunities to participate actively in all enterprises that concern them.
2. To recognize that leadership is a function of every individual, and to encourage the
exercise of leadership by each person in accordance with his interest, needs and abilities.
3. To provide means by which persons can plan together, share their experiences, and
cooperatively evaluate their achievement.
4. To place the responsibility for making decisions that affect the total enterprise with
the group rather than with one or a few individuals.
5. To advise flexibility of organization to the end that necessary adjustments can readily
be made.
Democracy in its full meaning involves sharing responsibility whenever authority is
shared. Many school administrators sincerely wish to be democratic, but are unwilling to
share the authority and at the same time bear the burden of all the responsibility.
53. Some of the roadblocks to democratic school
administration and supervision in this country are the
following:
Centralized School System
Lack of professionally-trained administrators and supervisors
Attitude of teachers toward administration and supervision
Lack of professionally-trained teachers
Lack of time for administration and supervision
Attitude of the public toward education
Desire for power by some administrators and supervisors
Social and economic Patterns of Society
Indifference of administrators and supervisors to democratic
practices
The apathy of the teaching personnel toward democratic
practices
54.
55. Elementary Education in the New
Society
Article XV, Section 8 of the New Constitution (1973) requires
all public and private schools in the country to pursue, in the
development of every child the following general aims:
“All educational institutions shall aim to inculcate love of
country, teach the duties of the citizenship, and to develop
moral character, personal discipline, and
scientific, technological, and vocational efficiency.
The study of Constitution shall be a part of the curricula.
56. The following discussion is based on the
general aims of education outlined in our New
Constitution:
Love of Country
Citizenship training
Development of moral character
Personal discipline
Scientific, technological, and vocational efficiency