EDUCATIONAL DECREE OF 1863: The decree
provided for the establishment of primary school for boys and girls in each
town of the country.
ACT NO. 74 OF 1901: Enacted into law by the Philippine Commission, the Act
created the Department of Public Instruction, laid the foundations of the
public school system in the Philippines, provided for the establishment of the
Philippine Normal School in Manila and made English as the medium of
instruction. (In 1949, the Philippine Normal School was made a teachers'
college by virtue of RA 416 and, in 1991, it became a full-pledge university by
virtue of RA 7168.)
ACT NO. 1870 OF 1908: The law served as the legal basis for the creation of
the University of the Philippines.
VOCATIONAL ACT OF 1927: Also known
as Act No. 3377, the Vocational Act as amended by other acts laid the
foundations of vocational education in public schools and made provisions for
its support.
EDUCATION ACT OF 1940: Also known as
Commonwealth Act No. 586, the Education Act laid the foundations for the
present six-year elementary course and made provisions for its support.
REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1947: The Act placed public and private schools under the supervision and
control of the Bureau of Public and Private Schools.
REPUBLIC ACT 5250 OF 1966: The Act provided the legal basis for the
implementation of a ten-year teacher education program in special education.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS (DECS) ORDER NO. 25 OF 1974:
Popularly known as the Bilingual Education Program of
1974, the Order required the use of English as medium of instruction for
science and mathematics subjects and the use of Filipino as medium of
instruction for all other subjects in the elementary and high school levels.
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1006 OF 1976: The Decree was a legal and formal recognition of
teachers as professionals and teaching as a profession.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 5698: The Act created the Legal Education Board whose task was to regulate and
improve the quality of law schools in the Philippines in order to stop the
increasing number of examinees who fail to pass the bar examinations given
every year.
REPUBLIC ACT 6655 OF 1988: Popularly known as the Free Public Secondary Education Act of 1988, the
Act created a system of free education in public high schools.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS (DECS) ORDER NO. 49 OF 1992: This Order serves as the guideline for the selection
of honor students in all public and private high schools. All these schools
were required to choose one (1) "valedictorian" and one (1)
"salutatorian," and to set the limit of the number of "honorable
mention" to one percent of the graduating students. The "eligibility
requirements" for becoming an honor
student are the following: 1) No grade below 80 in any subject and no
failing grade in any subject in the first two curriculum years; 2) Completed
third and fourth year studies in the same secondary school; 3) Completed the
high school curriculum within the prescribed year;
4) Active membership in two clubs
during the third and fourth years in high school; and 5) Conformed to school
rules and policies.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS (DECS) ORDER NO. 1 OF 1994: This Order increased the number of school days to 200
days (42 calendar weeks) inclusive of examination days for public and private
schools. (This department order is similar to RA 7791 which increased the
number of school days from 185 to 200 days.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS (DECS) ORDER NO. 37 OF 1994: The Order required all grade VI elementary students to
take the National Elementary Assessment Test (NEAT) that is given on the 13th Tuesday
following the opening of the school year. The assessment test consists of a
battery of tests of the multiple choice type. There are four subject areas:
English, mathematics, science and heograpiya / kasaysayan / sibika
(geography/history/civics).
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS (DECS) ORDER NO. 38 OF 1994: The Order required all senior high school students to
take the National Secondary Assessment Test (NSAT) that is given on the 13th
Friday following the opening of the school year, or three days after the NEAT
has been given. The assessment test consists of a battery of tests and there
are four subject areas: English and Filipino proficiencies, mathematics,
vocational aptitude and science & technology. (The test is not a
requirement for college admission.)
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7731: The Act
abolished the National College Entrance Examinations or NCEE to give the
marginalized students a greater chance to gain access to college education.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7722: Also known as
the Higher Education Act of 1994, the Act created the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED) whose main task is to regulate and develop tertiary education
in the Philippines.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7796: Also known as the Technical Education and Skills Development Act (TESDA)
of 1994, the Act's objective was to provide relevant and quality technical
education that is accessible to all and to create the agency that will manage
technical education and skills development in the Philippines.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7836 OF 1994: Known as the Philippine Teachers Professionalization
Act of 1994, the Act made it mandatory for people pursuing a career in teaching
to take the licensure examinations that are administered and regulated by the
Professional Regulatory Commission.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (DEPED) ORDER NO. 34 OF 2001: The Order required all public elementary and high school students to
read at least one book in the vernacular and one book in English per year
before they can be promoted to the next higher level.