Public Education IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS United States Department of the Interior Office of Education XUBLIC EDUCATION in the Philippine Islands is Bulletin 1935, No. 9, and is issued by the United States Department of the Interior, Office of Education. Harold L. Ickes is Secretary of the Interior and J. W. Studebaker is Commissioner of Education. Katherine M. Cook, the author, is Chief of the Division of Special Problems. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1935 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C. - - - - Price 10 cents Gra TEFUL acknowledgment is expressed to the Bureau of Insular Affairs for the use of prints and photographs reproduced in this Bulletin. CONTENTS Page Foreword 5 The Philippine Islands and People Location and Resources 7 The People 10 Civil Government in the Philippine Islands 15 The Public School System 21 Early Development of the School System 21 The Administrative Organization 24 Financing the Schools 29 Organization and Enrollment 32 Curriculum 36 Agricultural and Vocational Training 39 Secondary Schools 42 The Teachers 43 The University of the Philippines 46 Some Achievements and Problems 48 3 FOREWORD THE initiation and development of public education in the Philip- pine Islands is unique in modern educational history. Probably only among a people with an enthusiastic belief in the significance of education, under the benevolent guidance of a nation with an equally enthusiastic confidence in its possibilities, could the educa- tional experiment under way in the Philippines, sponsored by the United States, have eventuated. Rarely, if ever before, has a conquering people set about estab- lishing a free public system of schools almost before the guns of war were silent. Yet this unique achievement took place in the Philip- pine Islands immediately following American occupation. Almost overnight, soldiers became teachers; schoolrooms were located, somewhere, somehow; and instruction, elementary in its nature, and with the major purpose that of teaching English, begun. Education assumes added significance in view of recent develop- ments looking toward the complete independence of the Philip- pine people within the next decade. Yet when one considers the achievements of the past 35 years during which a complete school system has developed, there is ample justification for hope in the future. In the hands of the children now of school age, for nearly two thirds of whom educational facilities have not yet been made available, the fate of the Philippine Republic, to which the people aspire, rests. It is the purpose of this bulletin to present a brief account of the progress toward universal public education so far made in the Philippines as well as to suggest some of the problems yet to be solved. It was prepared primarily for the information of educators and others in the United States interested in the education of the Philippine people, whose interest and especially whose friendly guidance will continue until the hoped for objective is achieved. 5 I « - !> PHILIPPINE ISLANDS Public Education in the Philippine Islands THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AND PEOPLE Location and Resources THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS were discovered to the European world by Magellan on the momentous trip on which he piloted the Victoria, the first vessel to circumnavigate the Globe. Magel- lan has been characterized as the greatest navigator of all time — with the single exception of Columbus. On this particular trip he was seeking the same thing that Columbus sought, a western route to the Indies, particularly to the Spice Islahds, whose products were «o diligently sought by western Europeans of his time. In the early spring of 1521 Magellan landed first on Guam and later, on the southern end of Leyte, one of the smaller islands of the Philippine group. Here, like Captain Cook, in Hawaii, he met a tragic death at the hands of the natives.. Magellan, though a Portuguese, sailed under the Spanish flag, and though difficulties with Portugal ensued over the possession of the Islands covering an extended period, it was Spain that finally won them, colonized them, and held them until just preceding the American occupation, during the short existence of the Philippine Republic. The Philippine Archipelago lies in the Pacific Ocean south and west of Hawaii and close to the Asiatic coast from which it is separated by the South China Sea, approximately 500 miles wide. The most northern island of the Philippine group is but 65 miles from Formosa, the most southern of the Japanese Islands. From the British and Dutch East Indies to the south and south- west, the Islands are separated only by narrow ocean channels. On the east the Philippines are widely isolated by the waters of the Pacific. Guam and Samoa, the former approximately 1,500 miles east, the latter nearly 5,000 miles in the same direc- tion, are their nearest American neighbors. 7 There are more than 7,000 1 islands in the Archipelago of which about 1,000 are inhabited. They stretch north and south for 1,100 miles, and east and west for more than 600 miles. Most of the islands are close together and even small boats can cross the main channels which separate them. The largest islands are Luzon at the extreme north end and Mindanao at the extreme south. They are about the size of Pennsylvania and Indiana, respectively. Many smaller islands lie between these two, and still smaller ones lie along their coasts. Among the larger and more important ones are Samar, Negros, Panay, Mindanoa, Palawan, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol, and Mosbate. The whole group makes up an area nearly as large as Great Britain and Ireland combined, 2 or in terms of territory in continental United States, an area about equal to that included in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont com- bined, or a bit less than that of California. In common with other East Indian Islands they are moun- tainous and have many volcanoes of the several kinds — active, dormant, and extinct — some of which are as high as 10,000 feet above sea level. The varied altitudes, prevailing winds, and position with respect to nearness to the sea, result in a variety of climates and products among the islands although all lie wholly within the Tropics. The Archipelago is rich in resources, many of which are as yet undeveloped. Its tropical forests contain hardwoods of more than 2,000 different species, some of which are not found elsewhere, in variety to fit many different needs. In these forests there is said to be undeveloped wealth to the value of more than 2 billion dollars in lumber alone. Rubber, tanbark, dyewoods, and the like, are other valuable products of the forests. Agriculture is the predominant industry. The tropical climate is conducive to abundant production of a wide variety of fruits, both tropical and those common in temperate zones, including citrus fruits, bananas, pineapples, and products of the cocoa palm. Copra, rice, tobacco, abaca, sugar, and coconut oil are among the extensive exports, as are Manila hemp, rattan, kapok, and 1 Bunker, Frank F. Hawaii and the Philippines, lands, and peoples; also the Islands of the South Seas. Philadelphia, J. B. I.ippincott Co., 1928, p. 114. 2 Ibid. 8 other native products. Rice, the real staff of life of the Philippine people, is grown extensively, as are corn, beans, sweet potatoes, and other food crops. The waters abound in edible fish of many varieties, though there is little organized fishing. Manufacturing is relatively little developed as an industry. The production of coconut oil, copra, desiccated cocoa, tobacco, vanilla, hemD. embroidery products, The Water Front, Manila. and basketry making, are, however, important and fairly well developed industries. According to the Hammond report 3 the value of production of all organized business operations in 1928 was 813,175,000 pesos, or about 343 pesos per family, as compared with an income of $3,900 (approximately 7,800 pesos) a year for the average family in the United States. Agricultural production in commercial form contributes 72 percent of the value produced by all the activities in regular commercial channels. Lumber, minerals, fisheries, manufacturing, excluding agricultural prod- 3 Hammond, Lyman P. A survey of economic conditions in the Philip- pine Islands with particular reference to present and future development. Submitted to the Governor General. Manila, Bureau of printing, 1928. 144873°— 3 9 ucts, and livestock, contribute approximately 17 percent of the total. The climate is tropical but equable. There is little variation in temperature, rarely more than 30° F., among seasons. The cli- mate differs somewhat according to locality; the mountain sec- tions and plateaus, some of which are approximately 5,000 feet in altitude, have a temperate climate. The hot season is from March to June; the rainy season from the middle of June to October, is followed by the winter season. The monsoons and trade winds blow across the Archipelago. Destructive typhoons visit the Islands at occasional intervals. The People The present population of the Philippine Islands numbers approximately 13, 000, 000. 4 At the time of occupation by Spain there were approximately 500,000 inhabitants. They had even at that time attained a fairly high degree of civilization, but were then as now split into numerous distinct groups with different lan- guages as well as customs, traditions, and degree of civilization attained. The original inhabitants of the Philippine Islands, going far back into antiquity, were a race of pygmies. They are commonly called Negritoes because they were once believed to possess characteristics of the African Negro. Their descendants to the number of approximately 50,000 still inhabit certain moun- tain sections in the Archipelago. The population as now made up is almost wholly of Malaysian origin, although during the past several hundred years since the discovery of the Islands by Magellan there has been considerable blending with Orientals and Europeans. The early Malaysians migrated in groups, probably at widely separated periods of time. When the earliest migrations reached the Islands the new group of Malaysians drove back from the coastal regions the indigenous dwarf people who were doubtless inferior in warlike skills and possibly in numbers. Later on as group after group of Malaysians came, each new group in turn drove the earlier and resident group farther back into the interior. Meanwhile, the earlier Malaysians of necessity drove the Negritoes still farther back until 4 Report of the Governor, 1932. p. 136. 10 eventually they were forced to seek safety and subsistence in the remote mountain sections. As a result there are now a number of groups, descendants of the early Malaysian migrants, constituting the several different mountain tribes who, like the indigenous Negritoes, are relatively uninfluenced by modern civilization. Of these the Igorots, the Rontocs, and the Ifuegoes are the best A Moro Village in Mindanao. known and probably the most numerous tribes. They are moun- tain or at least inland dwellers in large part. The southern sections of the Archipelago, Mindanao and Sulu, are inhabited almost exclusively by Mohammedan Malaysians, generally known as Moros. They, too, are of varied groups or tribes, but since they are all followers of Mohammed they are unified by the common bond of religion. Frequently all of these groups, namely, the Moros and the different mountain peoples, are classed together as the non-Christian tribes in distinction from the Christian Filipinos who now make up the bulk of the population, numbering approximately 90 percent of the total. Among the Christian Filipinos of full native origin there are three important groups, the Tagalogs, the Visayans, and the Ilocanos. The Tagalogs have a highly developed language and considerable native literature. They live in Luzon, chiefly in that 11 part of it surrounding Manila, and number two or more million people. The Ilocanos live in the north and along the northwest coast of Luzon, while the Visayans, the largest group numerically, estimated at more than 5,000,000, occupy the central sections of the Archipelago. As a result of the location of the Philippine Islands, easily accessible to oriental countries, and of the Spanish occupation, intermarriage among individuals of different races and national- ities has been common for several hundred years. It is estimated that more than a million Filipinos, including some of the most influential citizens, politically and commercially, are of mixed blood. They are descendants of foreigners from many different lands, but especially from Spain and the Orient, and of Philippine mothers. It is apparent that the population is unusually varied, made up of groups distinctive in customs, languages, and origin, a variety rarely found in so small an area. Authorities have found 87 na- tive dialects and main languages. Not only the main languages, but the dialects differ widely, as widely it is said as the languages of the nations of western Europe. The long periods of continued isolation in which the different groups occupying the Archipelago lived led to much suspicion and hostility among them. Each warred with his neighbor up to and even after the Spanish regime. This isolation was due not alone to the tendency of each migrat- ing group to drive the previous inhabitants farther back inland where mountain barriers helped to preserve it, but in part also to the multiplicity of islands making up the Archipelago, separated by deep channels of water difficult for primitive boats to navigate. Indeed, even now interisland transportation is difficult and inade- quate; and there is considerable lack of homogeneity among the people of the Philippines in language, race, and color. Of foreigners resident in the Islands there are comparatively few of American or European nationality. According to the most recent data available, there are approximately 4,500 Ameri- cans, 5,000 Spanish, 50,000 Chinese, 10,000 Japanese, and 3,000 of other nationalities, a total of approximately 72,500 non-Fili- pinos in the Islands. The congestion of population so common in many parts of the Orient does not characterize the Philippines as a whole. The 12 population is, however, very unevenly distributed. According to a report of a recent survey of economic conditions made to the Governor of the Philippine Islands, the historic tendency to favor the coastal regions as a place of residence is still quite characteristic among the Philippine people. Population con- gestion when found, therefore, is in these regions. Distribution varies among islands and within single islands. This is exempli- fied by the variation among islands of from 18 inhabitants per square mile in Mindanao to 458 in Cebu, and within the single Island of Luzon, where it varies from 10 inhabitants per square mile to 316. For the Archipelago as a whole, eliminating Manila, the population density is 88 per square mile. As compared with oriental areas, China and India in particular, the Islands, there- fore, are far from being overpopulated, even for a country whose economic basis is agriculture. There are still vast areas of lands in the Philippines uncultivated; only about 21 percent of land available for agriculture is now producing. 5 Standards of living are low compared with American standards, as are wage scales, particularly for agricultural laborers. Under- nourishment caused by inadequate diet, lack of observance of important health habits and sanitary regulations with the usual evidences of illness and high mortality, especially infant mortality, which accompanies such conditions, are still in evidence. Hook worm, tuberculosis, beri-beri, cholera, typhoid, and other in- testinal diseases are still common, though there has been material improvement in health and sanitary conditions during the past two decades especially. The bulk of the people live in rural communities classified by writers on the subject as of three types: First, the village type in which large areas of land are divided into small plots tilled by peasants under an interleasing or kasamia system. The villages are called barrios — each consisting usually of a cluster of from 500 to 700 houses. This type of community prevails on the rice- and sugar-growing plantations. The second type which, like the first, conforms somewhat to the nature of farming which prevails, is that of a community made up of scattered farmers, each individual living on land cultivated 5 Hammond. Op. cit. 13 more or less independently and each farmer having a fruit or vegetable garden in connection with his house, where he keeps poultry and other domestic animals. Abaca and coconut raising lend themselves to this type of community living and it prevails in sections devoted to their cultivation. The third type prevails in the frontier regions — newly opened up lands where pioneers labor against odds to build new homes and new communities. The government is encouraging the opening up of new areas now uncultivated, with the purpose of exploiting undeveloped resources through homestead and colon- ization methods. The first or village system, according to most authorities, is more consistent with native traits, qualities, and traditions than are either of the other two. Rural transportation is as yet inade- quate and the people naturally gregarious. While agriculture leads among resources and occupations and the bulk of the people are rural, industry has developed — especially in the past 20 years — somewhat as it has developed elsewhere, leading to increased urbanization of the population as a whole. There are 3 cities having a population of more than 50,000, of which Manila, the capital city, with 300,000 popula- tion, is the largest. Cebu and Iloilo, the sugar shipping centers, Zamboango, Jolo, the capital of the Sulu Archipelago, are the other largest and among the most important of the cities. The task of education is indicated in this brief description of the country and the people. It is apparent that it is concerned with people in large part rural who have not yet attained the usual homogeneity in language, customs, and traditions one expects from people of a unified nation or of a civil and social unit, and whose economic, health, and general living conditions leave much to be accomplished. The objective toward which the department of education is moving is the formulation and opera- tion of a broad educational program designed to improve the social and economic situations and to prepare the people for the complete independence they seek and desire and which, with approximately 35 years of gradual preparation, they hope to achieve within the next decade. 14 CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS In both the establishment and maintenance of American sovereignty in the Philippines, the policies followed have been different in purpose and pursuance from those in other outlying parts. From the beginning it was definitely understood and offici- ally stated that the ultimate goal of the United States was not annexation, assimilation, or any type of permanent control as contemplated in Hawaii, for example, or Alaska, or the Virgin Islands, but eventual independent self-government. Principles adopted and procedures followed have, therefore, had for their purpose education in sell-government with gradual relinquish- ment of authority on the part of the United States Government and toward further autonomy on the part of the Philippine people. As rapidly as deemed feasible in the judgment of the responsible officials, functions of government increasing in number and importance have been delegated to them. The consummation of this policy is embodied in the Philippine Independence Act passed by the Seventy-third Congress setting up machinery for the attainment of “complete independence of the Philippine Is- lands, for the adoption of a constitution and government for the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes.” The present form of government — to prevail until the Philip- pine Commonwealth materializes — -has evolved under the policies indicated. Five important steps mark its development. The first step in governing the Islands immediately following American occupation was the setting up of the military government main- tained throughout or in sections of the Islands from 1899 to 1 902. The second step was the establishment of civil government under the Second Philippine Commission — appointed by the Presi- dent of the United States with William Howard Taft as chairman. This form of civil government prevailed until 1907 when the third step in the development and the first toward national self-govern- ment was taken in the creation of the Philippine Assembly — the first legislative body of the national government to be elected by the Philippine people. The Philippine Assembly constituted the lower house of the Philippine Legislature; the Philippine Commis- 15 sion, appointed as indicated by the President of the United States, the upper house. The fourth step was taken in 1916 when Congress passed the Philippine Organic Act known as the “Jones Law” — the basis of the present (1934) scheme of government in the Islands. The Jones Law provided for the extension of independence to the Philippine Islands “as soon as a suitable government can be estab- lished there” and conferred practically full self-government on the Philippine people in the administration of their internal affairs. The fifth step was taken by the Seventy-third Congress of the United States when it passed the Philippine Independence Act in March 1934, which provided a plan and established means for the establishment of complete independence, to be proclaimedjuly 4 following the expiration of a 10-year period from the date of the inauguration of the new government, provision for which is made in the act. It was, however, in the administration rather than in the form or wording of the acts providing for gradually increasing govern- mental responsibilities that the policies toward promoting eventual national self-government were manifested. Following soon after American occupation and while the temporary military govern- ment prevailed, the President of the United States appointed a commission known as the “First Philippine Commission” which was composed of 3 civilians, 1 naval officer, and 1 army officer “to investigate and study conditions concerned with public affairs in the Philippines” in order to aid the Government in shaping a policy which should be the basis of future political relationships between the United States and the Philippines. The Commission made a comprehensive study and reported to the Secretary of State, after which it ceased to exist as an official body. Its recom- mendations and advice formed the basis of future policies, how- ever, to a notable extent. One result of its service was embodied in the appointment by the President of the Second Philippine Commission — a body empowered with authority to establish and execute civil government in the Islands. It was composed of four civil members, with William Howard Taft as president. The policy to be pursued by the Commission was outlined in President McKinley’s instructions as follows: “The Philippines are ours not to exhibit, but to develop, to civilize, to educate, to train in the 16 science of self-government.” In these few words, according to Dr. Yedasto Jose Samonte,® he “sounded the keynote of the policy to be pursued by the United States in political relationships with the Islands.” The Commission assumed its duties in June 1900 and began its legislative work, leaving for the time being executive functions largely to the military governor. While the Commission was pro- ceeding with the setting-up of civil government in the Islands, central, provincial, and municipal, Congress passed the Spooner Amendment in March 1901, from which time on the government was civil in character, deriving its powers from Congress. The President of the United States issued an Executive order in June 1901, transferring the authority hitherto exercised by the military government to the president of the Commission, who was there- after invested with authority and discretion for the administration of the Philippine government until Congress should provide for a permanent civil government. Actually the military government was not terminated until July 4, 1903, when it was abolished in all sections of the Islands inhabited by Christian Filipinos. Hon. William Howard Taft was appointed the first civil governor on July 2, 1904. The title “Civil Governor” was later changed to “Governor General.” The executive powers formerly exercised by the Commission were vested, under the Spooner Amendment, in the Governor General, who exercised these powers with the consent and advice of the Commission which continued as a legislative and advisory body. Almost immediately following his appointment Governor General Taft appointed three Filipinos as members of the Com- mission, marking the first participation and cooperation of Fili- pinos in the administration of their national government. This Commission, consisting of the Civil Governor, 4 Americans, and 3 Filipino members, was responsible for the insular government until 1907. In the meantime a policy of establishing local self-government was under way. The instructions of the President to the Com- mission, on its appointment, set forth a policy of participation of the Philippine people in local government, the establishment of e Samonte, Vedasto Jose. The American system of colonial adminis- tration. Iowa City, Iowa, the University of Iowa. 144873 °— 3 < -3 17 independence in local aff airs of provinces and municipalities from central control, and the continuance and promotion of important administrative functions instituted by the military government with respect to the public education system, to free elementary education, and to the inculcation of the English language among the people. Philippine formal School at Manila. It is apparent that the Second Philippine Commission, acting with the Governor General, was both a legislative and an execu- tive council. The Governor General, representing the President of the United States, was executive head of the government and as chairman of the Commission, which was the lawmaking body, had a voice also in legislation. Four executive departments were created under the Commission, each headed by an American appointed by the Governor. The departments were Interior, Commerce and Police, Justice, and Public Instruction. Later the provision was changed and these executive heads were appointed by the President, as was the Governor General with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. 18 Under the terms of the Philippine Lav passed by Congress in 1902, the further extension of self-government was contemplated as soon as certain necessary provisions could be complied with. The most important of these related to the creation of the Philip- pine Assembly, to which reference has been made, which was to constitute an elective lower house of the Philippine Legislature. The conditions were satisfied in 1907 when a general election was called which resulted in the creation of the first Philippine As- sembly. It consisted of 81 delegates from 35 Provinces, and was the first legislative body of the national government to be chosen by the electorate of the Philippine people. It was opened for- mally by William Howard Taft, then Secretary of War, October 1907. The Philippine Commission became the upper house, the Philippine Assembly the lower house of the Philippine Legisla- ture. The Commission had at this time a majority of American members. Later by act of Congress and by appointment of President Wilson in 1913, the majority of the Commission was made up of Philippine members. Thus both houses were con- trolled by Filipinos, the Governor General having no veto powers. The Commission, however, continued to administer the non- Christian Provinces. In 1916 Congress passed the Philippine Organic Act known as the “Jones Law” — the basis of the present scheme of the Philip- pine government. It cleared the way for ultimate self-govern- ment and constituted “a very decisive step toward complete emancipation of the Filipino people.” Besides providing for independence “as soon as a suitable government can be estab- lished”, it conferred practically full self-government on the Philippine people in the administration of their internal affairs. The Jones Law vested legislative powers in the Philippine Legislature, to consist of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Senate succeeding the Philippine Com- mission provided by the law of 1902. Congress reserved the right to alter, amend, or repeal any law passed by the Legislature. The Governor General was given the veto power, two-thirds of each house being required to override his veto. If the Governor General refuses to sign a bill after such action it is sent to the President of the L’nited State for final disposition. 19 The Senate is composed of 24 members, 2 from each of 12 senatorial districts, created by the Jones Law. With the exception of 2 who are appointed by the Governor General to represent the non-Christian Provinces, the senators are elected by the voters of the several districts for a term of 6 years. One-half of the membership is selected every 3 years. The House is made up of 91 elected members and 9 appointed by the Governor General to represent the non-Christian Provinces. The mem- bers are elected triennially by the voters of their respective dis- tricts, which are formed according to population distribution much as in the States of continental United States. Legal voters must be male, 21 years of age or over, residents of the Philippine Islands for 1 year and of the municipality in which they vote 6 months, and in addition must comply with one of the following: (a) Own property; ( b ) have exercised the suffrage under previously existing organization; (c) be able to read and write Spanish, English, or a native language. By the terms of the Jones Act the Governor General retains his position as representative of the President of the United .States, and as chief executive officer of the Philippine Govern- ment. He rarely acts in matters purely domestic, however, without the advice of his cabinet, consisting of the heads of the executive departments. Six executive departments were estab- lished and continue to date as follows: Interior, Justice, Finance, Agriculture and National Resources, Commerce and Communi- cation, Public Instruction. Each department head has full con- trol over appointments in his department and has general super- vision of the work of the department. There is an under secre- tary in each department who is a permanent officer during good behavior. There is a Council of State advisory to the Governor General, composed beside the Governor General, of the Presi- dent of the Philippine Senate, the Speaker of the House, and the secretaries of the six executive departments. Following established practice for the Territories of the LTnited States the Philippines have two Resident Commissioners in Washington who attend sessions of Congress but have no vote. They are selected by the Philippine Legislature. [Since this was written the Filipino people have adopted a constitution and elected a president as provided f or in the Act of March 1934.] 20 Local governments are set up in each of the organized Prov- inces, of which there are 49. There are in each, provincial boards and a provincial governor, all of whom are elected by the qualified voters of the respective Provinces. In unorganized Provinces, including non-Christian and sparsely populated Provinces, there are no local officers; the administration of govern- ment is carried on under the supervision of the Department of the Interior. Officers for these Provinces are appointed by the Governor General with the advice and consent of the Philippine Senate. Municipalities constitute the smallest civil unit. Each is in charge of a president, vice president, and council elected by the people. The city of Manila operates under a special charter. THE PUBLIC-SCHOOL SYSTEM Early Development AT THE TIME of the American occupation, public education, though established in policy under the Spanish regime and again under the brief period of the Philippine Republic, was consider- ably if not completely disorganized. There were, however, according to Philippine authorities, both wide-spread acceptance of the principles of democratic education and an eagerness to profit by educational facilities as rapidly as they could be pro- vided. “The Philippine people believed in the need of extending education to the masses long before the American occupation and the idea that education should be popular and not autocratic was prevalent.” 7 “The American Government found the Philip- pine Islands ready to appreciate all the benefits (educational) that the new government had to bestow. The officials did not meet discouraging difficulties in introducing American education among the natives. The Philippine Islands were, at the time of the coming of the Americans, like a fertile soil cultivated by tire- less laborers and left to others for the bountiful harvest.” 8 7 Alzona, Encarnacion. A history of education in the Philippines, 1565-1930. Manila, P. I., University of Philippines press, 1932. 400 p. 8 Catapang, Vincent R. The development and the present status of education in the Philippine Islands. Boston, Mass., The Stratford company, 1926. 137 p. 21 During the Spanish regime primary schools had been estab- lished in the towns, the levels of education offered depending somewhat upon the size of the cities or towns. The plan provided for “incomplete” primary schools in barrios of 500 inhabitants or fewer. Supervision was entrusted to a superior .council of pri- mary instruction presided over by the Governor General, later A Mission School Dormitory, Bontoc, Mountain Province. called the Supervising Board of Public Instruction. Under this board there were provincial boards, one for each Province. The organization of secondary schools was ordered by a royal decree in 1865, the schools to be supervised by the University of Santo Tomas, a venerable institution in which higher education for the Philippines was centered for several hundred years preceding American occupation. The revolution which began in 1896 led to the disorganization of the schools; even, as it spread from Province to Province, to the closing of many. 9 In June 1898, Philippine independence was decreed and the revolutionary government set up. A presi- dent and cabinet, consisting of the heads of six departments, of " Alzona. Op. cit. 22 which public instruction was one, was provided for in the new set-up; and a state university planned to become the center of higher education in the country was established. Secondary as well as elementary education was to be under state control. The policy adopted included maintaining the primary schools which were in existence during the last days of the Spanish regime. To carry out the plans indicated, an amount of more than 35,000 pesos was set aside for public instruction as the budget for 1 year by the Philippine Republic. It appears then, that within a few months after the proclamation of independence by Filipino leaders, they had “provided for the establishment of public schools from the lowest to the highest grades.” Although these various decrees were of temporary character, they indicated a desire and policy to extend education to the masses. In the meantime the Americans had arrived and begun to establish schools and reopen closed ones, with English as the language of instruction. According to a Philippine authority, 10 There is not perhaps in the record of war another example where a conquering power had taken first of all to the teaching of the conquered, but in the very first minute of American occupation of Manila and other parts of the Islands, the American leaders began to deliberate on the pursuit of this grand ideal. General Merritt, American military commander, wisely appointed the broad-minded and intelligent \V. D. McKinnon superintendent of schools and within 2 weeks the latter had schools in successful operation throughout the city of Manila. Most of the teachers were volunteers, many of them college graduates, from among the American soldiers. By September 1808, all the public schoolhouses in Manila that were not in ruins were operating to capacity under the superintendence of the indefatigable McKinnon. * 11 Bv August 1899, according to the same author, 100,000 children were receiving instruction in the public schools. The Filipinos continued to oppose the United States until the end of 1899. Even then peace was not fully restored since guerrilla warfare was carried on well into 1902. In the meantime, how- ever, the two Philippine Commissions previously described had been appointed. The Second Philippine Commission established a centralized system of public instruction by a law which became effective in January 1901. This law, drafted by Dr. Atkinson, acting superintendent of public instruction and a member of the 10 Catapang. Op. cit. 11 Ibid. 23 Second Philippine Commission, was the beginning of and the basis for the present insular school system. It created a depart- ment of public instruction with a general superintendent of public instruction as its chief officer; provided for 1 8 division superintend- ents of schools and for 1,000 teachers of English from the United States. A superior and advisory board of education was provided also, following somewhat, former practice, to assist the general superintendent with advice and information. Municipal school boards were provided, composed of six members each. Through changes made later in the law, a bureau of education was established as a division of the department of public instruc- tion, with a director of education and two assistants in charge: the number of divisions was increased to 36, and a provision was inserted that public education was to be free. In 1907, when the first Philippine Assembly met, the University of the Philippines was created to head up the public-school system. At the same time the Assembly made its first appropriation for the support of barrio schools, amounting to 1.000,000 pesos. The Administrative Organization The present administrative organization is the direct outgrowth of this basic organization established by the Philippine Commis- sion following American occupation. Education, health, and quarantine services are centered in a department of public instruction which is 1 of 6 major governmental departments, each in charge of a secretary who is a member of the Governor General’s cabinet. The secretary of public instruction is also Vice Governor of the Islands and, like the Governor, is appointed by the President of the United States. So far the position of secretary has been filled by continental Americans. The Under Secretary is at present writing a native Filipino. The educational system functions through the bureau of educa- tion which is in charge of a director of education, formerly called general superintendent of education. He is appointed by the Governor General with the approval of the Philippine Senate. The school system is highly centralized, with all important functions centered in the bureau of education. These functions include the establishment of schools, the assignment of teachers 24 and the fixing of their salaries, choice and recommendation to the secretary of public instruction of candidates for important posi- tions in the bureau of education, the preparation of curricula, the supervision of school-building construction, in-service training of teachers, and the general conduct of the public-school system. Formerly there was a separate division of private schools in the department of public instruction, but the functions previously performed by that division have been assigned to the bureau of education. The director of education is a member of the board of regents of the University of the Philippines. The general organization of the bureau of education is shown in the accompanying chart. There are in the bureau, in addition to the director, an assistant director in charge of an office which in recent years has been filled by a Filipino; five divisions each in charge of a division chief; a chief clerk and a clerical and technical staff. The divisions are: Academic education, vocational educa- tion, publications, building and records. Attached to the admin- istrative and supervisory staff in the general office at Manila as professional workers apparently not definitely assigned to divisions, there are also a chief, measurement and research department; a chief, curriculum department, and a superintendent on special detail, each with the rank of division superintendent, and a spe- cialist in health education with the same rank. The director of education chooses and recommends to the secretary of public instruction for appointment, members of the central staff as well as candidates for the strategic educational posts in the field. 144873°— 36 4 25 Assistant Director DIRECTOR Bureau of Education Chief Clerk > Appointed by Governor General. Assistant to Director Vocational Publications Building Records Academic Division Division Officer Division Division Division Superintendent (Province) Industrial Supervisor 49 Division Superintendents, appointed by Secretary of Public Instruction. (A Di- vision is usually coincident with a Province. Manila is classed as a Province.) Academic Supervisor District Supervising Teacher District — one or more municipalities. In each Division, one or more sec- ondary schools with a principal in each, appointed by Secretary of Public Instruction and responsi- ble to Division Superintendent and Director of Education. In each municipality, a centralschool, primary and intermediate, and one or more barrio schools with a principal in charge, chosen by Di- vision Superintendent and respon- sible to Supervising Teacher. Pupils In each municipality there is a school board of 4 to 6 members and the municipal president ex-officio. Diagram I. Administrative Organization, Philippine School System. FROM The Bureau of Research and Reference in American School Systems, by Nemesio L. Agunod, and The Philippine School Report, 1933. 26 For local school administration the Islands are divided into 50 school divisions. With one exception there is a division superin- tendent in charge of each. The division superintendents are appointed by the secretary of public instruction on the recom- mendation of the director of education to whom they are respon- sible. The school division is usually coextensive with a Province, the civil governmental unit, the city of Manila being classed for this purpose as a Province. Division superintendents are assisted by supervisors of whom there are usually two in a division — an academic and ar. industrial supervisor. Their work is concerned with inspection of school facilities and practices, and with instruc- tional supervision. Division superintendents appoint municipal teachers, fix their salaries, manage school buildings, inspect schools in their respec- tive divisions, and, in general, carry out policies and enforce regulations of the director of education in elementary and secondary schools. There are both American and Filipino super- intendents who are, in general, qualified and experienced educa- tors. Salaries range from 2,000 pesos to 6,000 pesos per year. Tw’o division supervisors, one academic and one industrial, assist each division superintendent chiefly with instructional super- vision. In each division there are one or more secondary schools, each administered by a principal appointed by the secretary of public instruction on recommendation of the director and responsible to the director through the division superintendent. School divisions are again divided into districts, each district comprising one or more municipalities. At the head of the school districts are district supervising teachers appointed by the secre- tary of public instruction on recommendation of the director of education. The supervising teacher is responsible directly to the division superintendent. His chief function is instructional supervision. In each municipality there is at least one school, including primary and intermediate levels, called a central school, and one or more barrio (small village) schools. In charge of the central and barrio schools is a central school principal, an important education official chosen by the division superintendent and responsible directly to the supervising teacher. 27 As provided in the original act there are local school boards, one in each municipality, of from 4 to 6 members, of which municipality presidents are ex officio chairmen. The duties of these boards are more or less nominal. They represent the interests of the people with the school officials, especially the district superintendents. A Central School in Cebu. Prevailing types of schools are elementary schools, central, and barrio schools; academic secondary schools, usually called high schools, one or more of which are located in Manila and in each of the provincial capitals; vocational schools and insular schools. The insular schools include the Philippine Normal School, Philippine School of Arts and Trades, the Central Luzon Agri- cultural School, and the Philippine Nautical School. Besides these the insular government maintains the Philippine School of Commerce, the Philippine School for Deaf and Blind, and the University of the Philippines. Primary instruction has been extended to all sections throughout the Islands, though facilities are not adequate to accommodate the total school population. The basic language has from the beginning been English. Books and materials are furnished free. From the establishment of the school system to 1907, the 28 primary course was 3 years in length. In 1907 the course was lengthened to 4 years, and music, health, physical education, drawing, hand work, and pottery were added to the curriculum offerings. At present the elementary course includes seven grades. Industrial education is stressed in the intermediate grades. The bureau of education publishes bulletins, outlines, textbooks, circulars, courses of study, and a monthly magazine for teachers which is distributed free of charge to all teachers in service in the Philippine public schools. Financing the Schools Public schools are supported through direct appropriation from insular, provincial, and municipal governmental sources supple- mented by voluntary contributions and tuition fees. Net expen- ditures for 1932 were 27,911,060 pesos, or 23.26 pesos per pupil. The liberality with which the different governmental units con- tribute to the support of education may be judged roughly by comparing their respective contributions to education and to other governmental functions. In 1932 the three contributing units together allotted 20.38 percent of their total expenditure to school support. Proportions of all governmental expenditures to expenditures on schools by units were as follows: Insular, 22.63 percent; provincial, 12.25; municipal, 26.59. The insular gov- ernment is by far the largest contributor of funds for school support both in amount and in percentage of the total expendi- tures for all purposes. For 1932 percentages contributed by each unit are: Insular, 64.61; provincial, 16.37; municipal, 19.02. Of per pupil expenditure of 23.26 pesos for the year indicated, 15.03 pesos came from insular funds, 3.8 pesos from provincial, and 4.42 from municipal governments, respectively. In the school year 1932-33, voluntary contributions amounting to 633,376 pesos were received, consisting of money, land, labor, and materials. This money is used for permanent improvements, athletics, libraries, etc., but not for operating expenses of the schools. Table 1 shows total governmental expenditures and expenditures for schools with percentages of school to total gov- ernmental expenditures for the three respective units. Table 2 shows the situation concerning expenditures, both insular and provincial, for the year indicated. 29 Table 1. — Governmental Expenditures for all Purposes and the Amounts and Percentages Spent for School Purposes in 1932 1 Government Expenditures (pesos) Expenditures for schools (pesos) Percentage which school expenditures were of total expenditures Insular 79, 696, 887. 23 18, 034, 078. 41 22. 63 Provincial 37, 289, 176. 10 4, 568, 628. 74 12. 25 Municipal 19, 965. 061. 56 5, 308, 352. 95 26. 59 Total 136, 951, 124. 89 27, 911, 060. 10 20. 38 1 Report of Director of Education , 1933. p. 78, table 5. The data given in the tables are for the school year ending in 1932. Complete detailed information for 1933 is not available at the time of writing. However, because of deeply curtailed contributions for schools, especially from the insular government in 1933, due to depression conditions, it seems probable that expenditures for 1932 represent more nearly normal conditions than would those for 1933. Voluntary contributions amounting to 633,376 pesos are reported for the school year 1932-33. Contributions are in money, materials, labor, and land, and are used for buildings and sites but not for operating expenses. Contributions of this type have decreased in amount year by year since 1930-31 when they totaled 1,133,326 pesos. Tuition fees aggregating 631,406 pesos were collected from students enrolled in secondary schools in 45 of the 50 Provinces. They were spent for main- tenance of the secondary schools and ranged from 25 pesos per year for resident to 50 pesos per year for nonresident students. In table 2 these funds are credited to provincial contributions. The actual governmental financial contribution is therefore some- what less than that given in the table. Expenditures, segregated for secondary schools, are not available. It is, therefore, not possible to state what percentage of the total expenditure for secondary education came from tuition fees. During the school year 1932-33, in order to prevent the closing of many classes, tuition fees were collected for the maintenance 30 of intermediate classes in elementary schools in 256 munici- palities in 34 Provinces. This was due to depression conditions and does not represent normal practice in this respect. Rates varied from 1 to 10 pesos per annum per child. Table 2. — Expenditures from all Governmental Sources During the Fiscal Year 1932 for Public Education, Public Health, Public Works, and for Other Purposes 1 Insular Provincial Purpose Expenditures (pesos) Percent- age Expenditures (pesos) Percent- age Public educa- tion 20, 905, 955. 85 2 26. 23 4, 568, 628. 74 12. 25 Public health 5, 330, 641. 66 6. 69 2, 697, 529. 61 7. 23 Public works . 2, 813, 181. 71 3. 53 15, 566, 146. 00 41. 75 Other pur- poses 50, 647, 108. 01 63. 55 14, 456, 871. 75 38. 77 Total . 79, 696, 887. 23 100. 00 37, 289, 176. 10 100. 00 Purpose Municipal Total Expenditures (pesos) Percent- age Expenditures (pesos) Percent- age Public educa- tion 5, 308, 352. 95 26. 59 30, 782, 937. 54 22. 48 Public health 541, 789. 53 2. 71 8, 569, 960. 80 6. 26 Public works . 2, 942, 528. 98 14. 74 21, 321, 856. 69 15. 57 Other pur- poses 11, 172, 390. 10 55. 96 76, 276, 369. 86 55. 69 Total . 19, 965, 061. 56 100. 00 136, 951, 124. 89 100. 00 1 Report of Director of Education, 1933. p. 20, table 8. 2 The apparent discrepancy between certain items in tables 1 and 2 is not explained in the report quoted. 31 Some idea of the reduction in per pupil expenditures which has been under way since 1928 may be had from an examination of table 3. This reduction is due to the fact that available funds have not changed in proportion to enrollment changes. Table 3. — Total Governmental Expenditures for School Purposes for 5 Years, Expenditures Per Capita, and Expenditures Per Pupil 1 Year Total expendi- tures (pesos) Percentage of increase ( + ) or de- crease ( — ) Expendi- tures per capita (pesos) Expendi- tures per pupil (pesos) 1928 28, 994, 965. 98 30, 588, 352. 1 1 2. 43 26. 09 1929 + 5. 49 2. 53 26. 09 1930 31, 079, 255. 54 + 1. 61 2. 54 25. 61 1931 30, 264, 368. 55 -2. 62 2. 44 25. 11 1932 27, 911, 060. 10 -7. 78 2. 22 23. 26 1 Thirty-fourth annual report of the director of education, 7933. Manila, Bureau of Printing, 7934. Table 4, p. 78. Organization and Enrollment The development of the public-school system in the Philippines is generally considered an outstanding achievement in the history of modern education. From the chaos in education which existed at the time of American occupation resulting in part from the disorganization which accompanied the revolt against Spain and the Spanish-American War, followed as they were by some years of guerilla warfare against the United States, and in part from the fact that public education for the masses of the people had never been fully established, there has emerged in the relatively short period of 35 years a complete system of schools, elementary, secondary, and higher. Modern schoolhousing, though inade- quate, prevails and the number of permanent and semipermanent buildings is increasing by annual acquisitions, funds for which are now being provided from insular and other sources. There are, according to the most recent report of the director of education, 7,679 schools, of which 2,104 are central schools, 5,455 barrio 32 schools, and 120 secondary schools. 12 More than 16,000 class- rooms costing more than 51 million pesos are now available. In 1932-33, 26,957 teachers were in charge of these schools, all but approximately 200 of whom are Filipinos. School buildings have been constructed on more than 90 different islands; normal schools in which native teachers in constantly growing numbers are pre- pared have been established and a system of school financing devised and successfully operated. Year by year since the establishment of the school system there has been a steady growth in number of schools and in enrollment of children. In the school year 1899-1900, the first for which records are available, the enrollment was 6,900, all in the ele- mentary grades. Instruction on the secondary level began in 1904-5 with an enrollment of 404. By 1925, 25 and 20 years later, respectively, the elementary enrollment had reached 1,080,619; the secondary enrollment, 49,747. In the 20-year period preceding 1932, enrollment in the elementary grades more than doubled and for the decade 1922-32, there was an increase of approximately 47 percent. The peak cf enrollment was reached in 1930-31, just preceding the effects of depression conditions, with 1,143,708 enrolled in elementary, and 80,840 in the second- ary schools. Since 1930 the annual legislative appropriations, begun in 1927 for the extension of schools in barrios, have been discontinued owing to depression conditions. This has led to cessation of the annual increase in attendance which characterized the years pre- ceding 1930. Approximately 35 percent of the estimated school population was enrolled in the public-school system in September 1933. Private schools enrolled, in 1933, 92,579 pupils, increasing the total percentage enrolled in schools to approximately 37 per- cent of the school population. The present enrollment, though by no means ideal, is a result of the insistent demand of the Phil- ippine people for education and the sincere efforts made over a period of years to finance a system adequate in number of schools and teachers to make at least elementary education accessible to all children. 12 Report of the Director of education for the calendar year 1933, Manila, Bureau of printing, 1934. Table 23, p. 181. 33 Total enrollment in public schools in September 1932 was 1,194,802. Of this number 929,390, or about 79 percent, were enrolled in primary grades, that is, grades 1-4, inclusive; 174,307, or approximately 15 percent, in the intermediate grades, and 62,122, or approximately 5 percent, in the secondary schools. The preponderance of children in the primary grades is due in Grade VI Girls Sewing Class, Province Occidental T^egros. part to the desire to give as many children as possible the advan- tages of early elementary education, and the impossibility, with present resources, of financing adequately a complete program. There are, however, other influencing conditions, including the tendency of Philippine children to drop out of school in large numbers even before the close of the primary school period. Reasons for dropping out of school as discovered in studies quoted in the director’s report for 1933 are, in order of import- ance: Poverty, no accommodation, illness, lack of interest, dis- tance, marriage. In spite of these weaknesses, the fact remains that primary instruction has been extended to all sections throughout the Islands, including the non-Christian parts where the desire for 34 democratic education has not yet taken root as firmly as in oilier sections of the Islands. The paramount need and the immediate objective in elementary education is indicated in the recommenda- tions of the director of education in his reports for 1932 and 1933, in both of which he advocates the “increase annually of 500,000 pesos for the extension of schools until all children of elementary school age have been accommodated." School organization is based on the 7 4 plan, 7 elementary and 4 secondary grades. As yet universal secondary education can hardly be characterized as fully accepted as a public responsi- bility. This is indicated by the enrollment cited above and by the fact that fees for the support of secondary education have been permitted or exacted for some years. In a number of instances, according to the report of the director of education, “the fees have constituted almost the sole source of income.” It is the establishment and extension of elementary education throughout the Islands that is considered by school officials of the Islands the most important achievement of the school system while the further extension of all school facilities to all of the children is now the paramount and immediate aim of school officials. Table 4. — Number of and Enrollment in Schools Offering Specified Grades Grades Number of schools Number enrolled Percent enrolled I (onlv) 200 1 5, 000 1. 37 I and II 1, 208 69. 000 6. 36 Up to and including: III 759 55, 000 5. 04 IV 2. 895 346. 000 31. 76 V 158 32. 000 2. 96 VI 184 54, 500 4. 98 VII 911 518, 000 47. 53 Total 6. 315 1, 089, 500 100. 00 35 Elementary schools are classified as complete and incomplete according to the number of grades offered. The preceding table classifies 6,315 elementary schools on the basis indicated and shows the number and percent of children enrolled in each class of school. 13 Approximately 47 percent of the children enrolled in these schools are in schools in which the fourth is the highest grade offered; 47 percent are enrolled in elementary schools offering all seven grades. Depression conditions have had serious effects on the elemen- tary schools. Insular aid to schools was decreased 28 % percent in the 1933 allotment, half of which was later restored. However, many classes failed to open at the beginning of the school year, i. e., June 1933, some of which opened later, but others not at all. Intermediate classes affected adversely by decreasing revenues were maintained partly by tuition fees while in a number of ele- mentary schools the first four grades were organized on the single- session plan. This plan divides the teacher’s day into two periods in which two different groups of children are taught, one attend- ing school during the morning, and another during the afternoon session. “It means that the teacher has charge of 80 different children each day where formerly she had a maximum of 56”, according to the report of the director of education, and that relaxation periods, industrial activities, and physical education are practically eliminated from the schools operated on this plan. Curriculum The curriculum of the first four grades includes language, read- ing, phonics, number work or arithmetic, drawing, writing, physi- cal education, and music in all four grades. Industrial arts and home economics are introduced into the curriculum in the second grade and continued on an increasingly practical basis in the third and fourth years. In the intermediate grades, 5, 6, and 7, 3 different curricula are offered: The general curriculum, the intermediate trade curriculum, and the intermediate agricultural curriculum. In the trade curriculum, shopwork, woodwork, ironwork, home mechanics, are substituted for home economics and industrial arts in the general curriculum. In the agricultural 13 Report of the Director of education for the calendar year 1933, Manila, Bureau of printing, 1934. Table 23, p. 181. 36 curriculum, agriculture, farm work, carpentry, and allied subjects are offered in addition to the basic academic subjects. For the Islands as a whole the percentage enrolled in trade and agricul- tural courses in the intermediate grades is negligible. There are, however, a few school divisions in which 9 to 42 percent of the pupils enrolled in the intermediate grades are enrolled in the agri- cultural curricula. The school year begins in June and ends in March; the school day is from 4 to 6 hours in length, beginning as early as 7:30 or 8 o'clock, with the usual intermissions. Considerable time is devoted in all grades to teaching English, including conversation, compo- sition, phonics, and other aspects of language teaching. From the initiation of the Philippine school system on the Amer- ican plan emphasis has been placed on industrial and agricultural training. Agriculture is the most important industry and is taught in elementary and secondary as well as in special agricultural schools. Industrial work was made a requirement in all elemen- tary and intermediate schools in 1 908 following an exhibit of school projects which demonstrated their commercial value. Later a government sales agency was organized; sales centers were opened in provincial municipalities and elsewhere, and an industrial division was set up in the bureau of education with a staff of traveling teachers to guide vocational instruction in the field. In addition, each division employs an industrial supervisor under the direction of the central staff. The vocational courses offered in the elementary schools include carpentry, hand weaving, and woodworking for boys, and house- hold industries for girls. The weaving courses are basketry, mat making, hat making, bamboo and rattan furniture making, for all of which local material is abundant. Woodworking is required in the upper grades. The household industries include plain sewing, embroidery, lace making, and Irish crochet. Cooking and house- keeping are required in the intermediate grades. Training in the household arts for girls begins in the second grade of the public schools. Plain sewing and embroidery, lace making, particularly of a practical sort, and sewing, including the making of garments to be worn or sold, are emphasized. Instruc- tion in cooking, housekeeping, sewing, and home nursing are offered in the intermediate grades, the courses leading to those in the 37 secondary schools where similar training is offered throughout the course. Gardening is required on home or school grounds of all elementary school pupils and agriculture and allied topics are emphasized throughout the course. Of the important adaptations to special needs and conditions in the Philippine Islands, the teaching of health, the stress placed on Elementary School Girls in Cooking Class, Laguna Province. industrial and agricultural work, and homemaking courses, in both primary and intermediate grades, are examples. Health edu- cation is stressed particularly and much attention is given to supervision of hygiene habits of children throughout the school day. The objectives of health education as given by the director of education include (1) sanitation and hygiene of the school; (2) health education; (3) physical education; (4) health services. Health services are maintained in the schools through coopera- tion with the bureau of education, its nurses, first-aid, and regular teachers, and with the bureau of health doctors and nurses, and Red Cross nurses and dentists. Municipalities and parent-teacher associations also have contributed toward maintenance of school clinics, especially toward providing medical supplies. Teacher- 38 nurses in the schools, insular, provincial, municipal, or Red Cross, numbering 131, were at work in 43 of the 50 divisions in 1933." The director of education’s report states that the number of teacher-nurses, though increasing slowly, is wholly inadequate; the inadequacy in numbers is aggravated because the population is widely scattered and transportation in many sections difficult. The schools concern themselves with community and home sanitation extensively. Supervision is furnished from the central office by a specialist in health education and the supervisor of health education. They are assisted by 10 division supervisory teachers of hygiene and sanitation who supervise health work in the classrooms. There arc practically no public libraries even for the educated individual other than the 14 branches of the National Library and the libraries in the public schools. The latter number 4,947, with a total of 2,215,796 books and approximately 15,000 magazine subscriptions. Considerable revision of the secondary curricula is now under way. Commercial, agricultural, and other vocational courses of a variety of types are replacing many of the college-entrance subjects which have dominated the courses offered in the ma- jority of high schools. There is a growing realization that eco- nomic independence must accompany political independence and that crucial financial, commercial, and industrial problems will be involved when Philippine goods must compete with other foreign countries for markets in the L'nited States. If the people are to be prepared for the critical times ahead, educational pro- grams must be broadened and enriched and the schools must participate actively in preparing for and carrying on under the new regime. Agricultural and Vocational Training In 1928 the Philippine Legislature passed a Vocational Edu- cation Act under the provisions of which the division of vocational education in the central bureau was reorganized on its present basis, with four departments — Agriculture, Trade and industries, Home economics, and Placement. There are central supervisors 14 Report of the Director of education for the calendar year 1 933, Manila, Bureau of printing. 1934. Table 23, p. 181. 39 in each department and traveling teachers in the departments of trade and industries and home economics. Besides providing for the central staff the act provides also for financial aid from insular funds to the Provinces for teachers’ salaries, teacher training, and buildings. The act resembles somewhat in its provisions and operation the Federal Vocational Act in continental United States. A Central School, Lanao Province. There are special agricultural schools of four different types, namely, agricultural high schools, of which there are 14; rural high schools, of which there are 15; farm schools, 1; and farm settlement schools, 269 — a total of 299 schools which are agri- cultural in type, located in 32 different school divisions or Prov- inces. The enrollment in 1932 was 27,509. The 14 agricultural high schools are located in as many different Provinces. The principal and largest one is the Central Luzon Agricultural School located in Munoz, which is supported from insular funds and has an enrollment of more than 1,000 pupils. Its purpose is to prepare agricultural leaders and teachers of agriculture. The students are self-supporting. They own and operate a sawmill, a general store, a bank, a moving-picture house, poultry and hog projects, and gardens. The other agri- 40 cultural high schools are patterned after this one in objectives and offerings. The rural high schools are located in the more isolated com- munities and emphasize practical training in farming. The farm schools are day schools of intermediate grade offering practice farming to boys and practice housekeeping and household arts to girls. They are apparently decreasing in number. While 14 were reported in 1925, only 1 is listed in the report of the director of education for 1933. The settlement farming schools, all on the primary level, are established in the less progressive communities chiefly in the non- Christian Provinces, and have as one objective the promotion of a settled farm life and modern farm methods. Besides offering the academic subjects on the primary level they give practical sug- gestions on farming. 15 Trade schools were organized as early as 1901 in Manila and the idea spread rapidly into the Provinces. They were estab- lished on the elementary level but since 1925 have been or are being gradually converted into secondary trade schools which attract mature students. Both vocational and academic courses are offered and the schools make materials, especially furniture, for government and private use. The best kept of the several trade schools is the Philippine School of Arts and Trades at Manila. It is supported by the insular government. Courses include carpentry, building, machine-shop practice, stationary engineering, automobile operation and repair, ceramics, drafting, preparatory engineering, and academic subjects. There is also an insular government-maintained school of com- merce at Manila offering the usual courses, including a 4-year course in commerce, a 2-year course in bookkeeping, and a 3-year course in stenography. The insular government also maintains a school of navigation offering 2-year courses for students who have completed 2 years of secondary education, and a school for the deaf and blind, which offers vocational courses. 15 Alzona. Op. cit. 1932 and 1933 Reports, Director of Education. 41 Secondary Schools Secondary schools were established during the second decade of the American regime as graduates from the elementary schools eligible for further education increased in number. The curric- ulum of these schools was of the college-preparatory type pat- terned after that offered at the time in secondary schools of con- tinental United States. Agricultural and trade schools on the secondary level were results of later developments and the in- creasing realization that available white-collar jobs were not numerous enough to provide for all the high-school graduates who considered themselves prepared for them through graduation from the academic type of high school. It was an accepted policy as secondary schools were introduced into the public-school system that they should be supported by the respective provincial governments. The Provinces have, how- ever, been unable to assume this financial responsibility and the insular government has offered considerable assistance. Munici- pal funds and tuition fees are, however, the chief sources of sup- port. Secondary schools are coeducational, though boys attend in larger numbers than girls. In 48 Provinces, not including Manila, there are reported 113 secondary schools, at least 1 in each Province, and as many as 4 in each of 7 Provinces. In Manila there are 7 secondary schools — a total of 120 for the Islands. Enrollment in secondary schools as of September 1933 is reported as 51,623, nearly percent of the total school enrollment — elementary, intermediate, and sec- ondary. 16 There are 1,427 teachers and 114 principals for the 120 schools. The curricula offered in secondary schools are classified as: Gen- eral, home economics, normal, agricultural, trade, commercial, and nautical. The percentage of the total enrollment in each type in 1933 was as follows: General, 65; normal, 7; agricultural, 7; home economics, 7; trade, 13; nautical and commercial, each less than 1 percent. 18 Report of the Director of education for the calendar year 1933. Manila, Bureau of printing, 1934. p. 102. 42 The Teachers When the public-school system of the Philippine Islands was ini- tiated under American auspices and with English as the language of instruction, it was necessary to employ teachers from the United States in large numbers, as relatively few Filipino teachers could speak English or teach in English. As soon as qualified Filipinos i The Provincial formal School, Cebu. learned enough English, they were appointed as teachers in the primary schools, while teachers from the continent continued in charge of intermediate and high-school grades and in supervisory and administrative positions. As rapidly as possible plans were organized and put into opera- tion with the ultimate objective of staffing the school with Fili- pinos. The Philippine Normal School was established at Manila in 1901, with five branches in as many provincial centers, as a first step toward achieving the desired end. The course offerings during the first several years were adapted to the needs of candidates for teaching positions rather than to academic standards of the kind usually considered acceptable in continental teacher-preparing institutions. Standards were, how- ever, gradually raised year by year as regular elementary and sec- ondary schools turned out graduates in recurring numbers, to 43 conform more nearly to approved professional standards. Curric- ula reorganizations, introduction of practice departments, both primary and intermediate, home economics, industrial, physical training, and other departments, as well as gradually rising stand- ards, have marked the development of the school into a real pro- fessional school with entrance requirements resembling those of standard teacher-preparing schools in continental United States. Since 1928, completion of 4 years of secondary education together with a prescribed rating in intelligence tests has been required for entrance to the Philippine Normal School, thereby placing it on the college level. Two-year, 2}2-year, and 3-year curricula are offered. Of these, 2 are general curricula of different lengths, 2 are home economics curricula, and 1 is a 3-year “combined” curriculum. The school is coeducational and enrolled in 1932 more than 1,200 students. Besides the Philippine Normal School there are 7 provincial normal schools supported by and located in Provinces somewhat remote from Manila, and 9 high schools which offer teacher- preparing courses designated as normal courses. These are all — - both schools and classes — on the secondary level. A standard 2-year course for graduates of high schools is maintained at the Philippine Normal School. Enrollment in these schools and classes was 2,940 as of September 1933, making a total enrollment in all normal training schools and classes of 4,151. Professional standards have been constantly improving through these preservice schools and through organized plans for offering to teachers in-service opportunities for academic and professional training. Approximately 40 percent of the staff is reported as college or normal school graduates in 1933. Opportunities for training in service are provided in several ways. Training centers or demonstration schools, in which teach- ers in need of special help may spend 1 to 5 days in observation and conference while substitute teachers replace them in their regular classes, are maintained in 6 Provinces. Division and district institutes are held in practically all Prov- inces during the first 3 weeks of each academic year. Organized provision for school visiting days prevails throughout the Islands. Vacation normal schools, professional classes, and constructive 44 classroom supervision arc other important provisions of the in- service training program. The regular school year begins in June; the long vacation period is during April and May. The summer schools for teachers pre- viously noted are held during these months. School hours arc from 7 to 1 1 in the morning and from 1 to 4 or 5 in the afternoon. Educational qualifications of teachers of the Philippine schools as of August 1933 are reported in the Thirty-fourth Annual Re- port of the Director of Education as follows: Of the full staff of teachers in the elementary school, 59 percent have completed normal school or normal classes in secondary schools; 17 percent have completed at least 3 years of such training; 15 percent have completed from 1 to 3 years of college work, while 3 percent are college graduates. This leaves approximately 6 percent (5.64) whose qualifications are below the secondary level. Of secondary school teachers 0.67 of 1 percent have education and training below the secondary level; 2 percent have 1 to 3 years of secondary training; 12 percent are secondary school graduates; 14 percent have 1 to 3 years’ education and training on the college level; "'nd 71.62 percent are college graduates. The average monthly salaries of teachers and principals ac- cording to classification as Municipal, Provincial, and Insular, are as follows: 17 Municipal. — Teachers, elementary, 53.26 pesos; secondary, 101.84 pesos; principals, 77.32 pesos. Provincial. — Teachers, elementary, 76.58 pesos; secondary, 112.89 pesos; principals, elementary, 80.46 pesos; secondary, 123.47 pesos. Insular. — Teachers, elementary, 92.90 pesos; secondary, 120.84 pesos; principals, elementary, 94.27 pesos; secondary 165.19 pesos; supervising teachers (all insular), 116.68 pesos. Insular teachers, i. e., those paid from insular funds, receive better salaries and have higher qualifications than those paid from provincial or municipal funds. There is a teachers’ pension fund to which the teachers as well as the respective governments, insular, provincial, and municipal, contribute. 17 Data as of August 1935. 45 The University of the Philippines The public-school system of the Philippine Islands, like that of school systems in the majority of the States of continental United States, is headed up in a university, the University of the Philip- pines. It was created by an act of the Philippine Assembly and opened its doors to students for the academic year 1908-9, with an enrollment of 67. Since then, the enrollment has increased rapidly from year to year. Beginning about the year 1927, the University of the Philippines has enrolled annually between 7,500 and 8,000 students. The university is patterned in organization, administration, sup- port, and the like, somewhat after American State universities. It has a charter by the terms of which administration is vested in a board of regents. In 1930 the board was composed of the secre- tary of public instruction, ex-officio chairman, the chairman of the committee on public instruction of the Philippine Legislature, the president of the university, the director of education, 1 member of the university council (a council made up of professors of the university), 2 alumni of the university, and 3 additional members appointed by the Governor General with the consent of the Philippine Senate. Non-ex-officio members are appointed for a term of 3 years. The president is chosen by the board of regents. The faculty is chosen by the board upon recommendation of the president. Since its establishment the university has had six presidents. The person who at present holds the position was appointed in 1925. Women have been admitted to all departments of the univer- sity on the same basis as men since its opening. In 1929 there were 2,172 women students. Women are enrolled in practically all departments but reports indicate a higher percentage in the department of education than in other departments. The student body is made up of graduates of accredited high schools in the Philippine Islands in large part. Entrance require- ments differ somewhat among colleges. There are a number of students from the United States and foreign countries, especially' from China, Japan, and Siam. There are no dormitories except privately supported ones in connection with the university proper at Manila. The college of agriculture of the university located at Los Banos maintains dormitories for its students. 46 The university is supported from annual appropriations made by the Philippine Legislature and by student fees. It has as yet no large endowments upon which to draw for additional support. Since appropriations vary from year to year according to the temper of the legislators the present method is unsatisfactory and the university administration is working for and hoping to secure a fixed permanent source of income. Home Economics in the Elementary School, Santa Cruz, Laguna Province. The university was originally housed in old buildings ‘'be- queathed by the Spanish era” 18 and in other temporary buildings. In 1912 the first appropriation for building purposes was made by the Legislature, amounting to 150,000 pesos. Subsequent appropriations and student fees have enabled the university to provide several permanent buildings both in Manila and Los Banos. The university maintains colleges of agriculture, of liberal arts, of veterinary science, of medicine, including a graduate school of tropical medicine, of law, of engineering, and of education. There are also schools of pharmacy, of dentistry, of surveying, 18 Ibid. 47 of fine arts, and a conservatory of music. There are two junior colleges which are branches of the university. They are located at Cebu and Vagan, respectively. Some Achievements and Problems The purpose of this pamphlet is primarily to acquaint educa- tors and others interested, chiefly, of course, in continental United States, with the present status of education in the Philip- pine Islands. It aims, therefore, to describe the school system and to give some idea of the status of education rather than to evaluate achievements or to review the history of the school system since American occupation. It is realized, however, that an intelligent understanding of the school situation requires that one keep in mind that the school system as it now functions is of very recent origin, approximately only 35 years old, and that the situation it was designed to meet was one for which there was no adequate precedent that could be followed. The Monroe Commission 19 characterizes the whole project as an experiment in education on a large scale. The objec- tive was to rehabilitate the Filipino people socially and economi- cally, and to prepare them for self-government. To achieve this end a truly American means was inaugurated, namely, education: Universal, practical, and democratic. 20 Universal, in that the foundation was laid for a system designed to be extended to all the children of the Islands. This eventuation has not been at- tained but the basis for its attainment has been well established. Practical, in that the definite objectives designated, social, economic, and governmental, have profoundly influenced school aims and practices, though admittedly the aims have been in- adequately approached and practices imperfectly carried out. Achievement must be judged, of course, in the light of almost insuperable difficulties and of human limitations. Democratic, in that the system has from the beginning looked toward equality of opportunity without regard to racial or economic distinctions. The people for whom the education program was formulated were oriental in race while Spanish to a great extent in institutions 10 Survey of the educational system of the Philippine Islands. Manila, Bureau of printing, 1925. 20 Ibid. 48 and traditions. Their social and economic status was low, judged by any standard, but particularly if judged by American standards. They were quite unaccustomed to self-government and education of the masses had never been fully established. There was little unity among the groups making up the population. They differed widely in language and customs with practically no unifying in- fluence unless the geographical one could be so characterized. Grade School, Bu\idnon Province. They were now suddenly confronted with the necessity of rapid adaptation to western civilization with all its implications, includ- ing the acquisition of a new language, all to be achieved through education. The creation of a complete system of schools, elementary, sec- ondary, and higher, enrolling at the present time more than a mil- lion children, organization of a system of financing it, gradual preparation of a staff of native teachers in the short span of 35 years, is in itself a task of probably unprecedented magnitude. It did not, however, involve more significant problems than the parallel task confronting education, of formulating and maintain- ing a program definitely designed to meet the unique needs and situations of the people. The language problem in itself was diffi- 49 cult and unique. There was no common language and no one of the many dialects in use apparently was acceptable as such. The choice, therefore, was not, as in European countries where bi- lingualism is in vogue, between one indigenous and one foreign language. Spanish, though widely used, could not be called com- mon. At the time at least the adoption of English seemed the most acceptable and satisfactory solution. History may reverse this decision. An equally difficult, if less significant, problem was that of staff- ing the schools. Large numbers of schools were established as has been indicated “under the very guns of the American troops.” Soldiers and American teachers were an immediate necessity, but employed only as a temporary expedient. The work of preparing a staff of native teachers began immediately through establish- ment of teacher-preparing institutions and in-service training. That creditable progress has been made in the direction of meet- ing the needs and solving the problems indicated is apparent from the preceding account of the status of the school system. A direct attack upon economic rehabilitation was made immediately fol- lowing the establishment of schools under American auspices. Agriculture, homemaking, trades and industries, particularly those in which the people were adept, such as hat making, basketry, lace making, embroidery, and the like, were introduced into the ele- mentary schools before secondary schools were established. At first, emphasis was placed upon the production of marketable ar- ticles, even to the extent of conducting a sales service for school products for a number of years. Reorganization with increasing emphasis on educational values and vocational objectives on the secondary level has been under way in more recent years. As set forth in the preceding account, agricultural courses and agricul- tural schools have been established widely and decided efforts are made toward encouraging enrollment in varied types of vocational as well as academic courses. In the achievement of social improvement the most notable effort appears to have been that toward health and community sanitation objectives. A special drive toward improvement of economic and health conditions through adult courses resembling somewhat extension education courses carried on by colleges of agriculture in continental United States conducted by school and 50 other government officials is reported by the Governor in his report for 1933. It is apparent that the social and economic goals have not been lost sight of in the education program and that considerable progress has been made in adapting it to the peculiar needs and genius of the people. Considerable progress has been made, too, in promoting acceptance of universal education as a public respon- sibility. Certainly the expenditures for schools as reported herein show the willingness of the people to make real sacrifices in the interest of education. The Philippine people are now facing a complete change in their situation. Independence is assured at the end of the present decade. Preparation for intelligent assumption of the responsi- bilities involved cannot get under way too quickly. The people have a right to and doubtless will look to the schools to assume a large share in this preparation. It has been pointed out in this pamphlet that an excellent beginning has been made through education toward the development of the social and economic adequacy which must accompany political independence. How best to build on the present achievements in order to complete the task in the short period of 10 years is an imminent problem demanding a thorough stock taking of the present status as a basis for planning for the future. Among the most significant problems for immediate attack are: Provision of school facilities for a higher percentage of children of school age; reformulation of educational objectives in the light of new responsibilities; school organization and curriculum ad- justment; preparation of teachers for the new responsibilities both through preservice and inservice training, and especially the reevaluation of financial resources in order, first, that funds avail- able for schools be as generous as resources permit, and, second, that the best possible use be made of the funds to the end that full educational values are received for money expended. Obviously upon achievement in the direction of better financing depends the success attainable in the solution of many other problems con- fronting the schools. Universal education, elementary and secondary, at public expense should be the policy in the democracy for which the Philippine people hope. Children now of school age will be solv- 51 ing the problems of the new republic in 10 years. For little more than one-third of these children are educational facilities avail- able. Of this small number 79 percent are in the elementary grades; only 5 percent are enrolled in high schools. Intelligent participation in the responsibilities of citizenship in a modern state, preparation for leadership, political, business, professional, Group Games in Sulu. demand far more in the way of educational facilities than are now available. If, after full investigation, it appears that finan- cial resources do not permit of universal education on all levels at public expense, whatever choice is made should be made in the light of careful consideration of the whole situation, and with the best professional advice and council available. The present policy of educational authorities in the Philippine Islands as stated in the reports of the director of education is to extend facilities for primary education to increasingly larger numbers of children. Secondary education is still in part on a tuition basis. In Puerto Rico where financial resources have so far proved inade- quate to support universal education, the policy as announced is to improve the quality and type of educational offerings rather than to extend school facilities to a greater number of children until additional funds can be found. No tuition fees 52 are exacted in either elementary or secondary schools. These are among possible choices if so drastic a choice must be made. Restatement of the objectives of education in view of the new responsibilities which the schools must assume of preparing for political and economic independence and social adequacy in the next decade, such reformulation of curricular content, changes in school organization and teacher-preparing programs, and the like, as new objectives necessitate, demand educational statesmanship of a high order. Awareness of the importance of adequate financing, curricular adjustments, extension of educational facili- ties, and other pertinent problems, is shown in the annual reports of the director of education over a period of years. It seems reasonable to expect recognition of the new responsibilities with recommendations for meeting them from educational officials in the Philippine Islands. Upon the success with which the educational problems indicated and implied are met within the next few years will depend the ultimate welfare of the Philippine Republic. o 53