Philippines
The Education System in Philippines
The Philippines has one of the highest literacy rates in Asia and in the world. As of 2006, its literacy rate is 93%. As a result, Filipinos are highly demanded in many parts of the world because of its professional skills, proficiency in English and ability to learn other foreign languages and adapt new cultures and traditions.
English remains the primary language used in schools and universities. Majority of educational materials and references are printed in English. A lot of these technical resources do not have a counterpart version in Filipino because of the complexities of the said language. School year begins in June and ends in March. Primary education consists of grade 1 to grade 6 students whose age ranges between 7 and 12 years old. Secondary education has four levels starting with first year up to fourth year with 13 to 16-year old students. Most universities and colleges offer 4-year degree courses consisting of 2 semesters a year. There are some universities that offer 3-4 semesters a year.
The government has 3 main branches that manage education system in the Philippines, these are the Department of Education (DE), Commission on higher Education (CHED) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
The Filipino culture highly regards Education as an important factor to be successful in life. There are colleges in the Philippines that consistently made it to the list as top universities of the world and in Asia. Consequently, the government provides a big part of nation’s budget to education.
