Education Reform: Mindanao Final Agreement
Implementations
Education Reform – 1996
The education articles in the 1996 accord call for ARMM schools to follow the same basic structure as the national Filipino school system in regards to standards and guidelines. The GRP’s primary implementation responsibility is to provide equal opportunity to education in the ARMM. In practical terms, this should mean proportionate funding, or an equitable share of funding, for ARMM schools – relative to the population size of the ARMM. Based on information gathered from the GRP National Statistics Office, the amount of money allocated to the ARMM educational system seems to be equitable relative to the funding of the other provinces, although these statistics do not go back to1996. According to the latest Department of Education Budget, 1.6 billion pesos (38.2 million U.S. dollars) were spent on Kindergarten education, for example. The ARMM received 52.1 million pesos (1.2 million U.S. dollars). The ARMM received 3.14 % of the entire Kindergarten budget for the country.1 Based on population statistics, the population of the ARMM was 3.15% of the total population. Hence, it appears that the GRP allocates educational funding based closely on population figures.2 Based on data from the fiscal yearbooks, we estimate that the GRP contributes an equitable share of funding to ARMM schools relative to the population size of the ARMM.
- “GRP Office of Budget and Management,” accessed August 6, 2012, http://www.dbm.gov.ph/?page_id=3610.
- “GRP National Statistics Office,” accessed August 2012, http://www.census.gov.ph/data/sectordata/datapop.html.
Education Reform – 1997
No major developments pertaining to education reform in the ARMM took place this year.
Education Reform – 1998
No major developments pertaining to education reform in the ARMM took place this year.
Education Reform – 1999
No major developments pertaining to education reform in the ARMM took place this year.
Education Reform – 2000
No major developments pertaining to education reform in the ARMM took place this year.
Education Reform – 2001
Article 104 states that “the management and control, and supervision of the entire educational system in the area of autonomy shall be the primary concern of the Regional Autonomous Government.” The Republic Act no. 9155 (also called the Governance of Basic Education Act) was passed in August 2001. Section 13 of the act states that the ARMM is responsible for the educational system in the autonomous region. Republic Act 9155 made primary education compulsory and free for children age 7-13, and secondary education free but not compulsory.1
King and Guerra report that in 2001 the GRP implemented a decentralized approach to education with respect to the ARMM.2
- “Philippines: World Data on Education,” UNESCO (2006/2007), accessed August 27, 2012, http://www.ibe.unesco.org.
- Elizabeth M. King and Susana Cordeiro Guerra, “Education Reforms In East Asia: Policy, Process, and Impact,” in East Asia Decentralizes: Making Local Government Work (World Bank, Washington D.C., 2005), 179-207.
Education Reform – 2002
No major developments pertaining to education reform in the ARMM took place this year.
Education Reform – 2003
No major developments pertaining to education reform in the ARMM took place this year.
Education Reform – 2004
In 2004, the development and institutionalization of madrasa education was approved by the GRP Department of Education under DepED Order No. 51. The ARMM also adopted the national standard curriculum in the same year with Executive Order No. 13-A. These two orders essentially bring Madrasa schools into the national fold for the first time by allowing them to apply for national funding.1
- “DepEd Order No. 51,” RGRP Department of Education, accessed August 6, 2012, http://eedncr.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/deped-order-no-51-s-2004.pdf.
Education Reform – 2005
The Arabic language as a medium of teaching in Madrasas was recognized from 2004 onward. Department of Education Order Number 51 and ARMM RG Executive Order No. 13-A helped to upgrade and standardize the Arabic Language and Islamic Studies in madrasas and the teaching of secular subjects in those madrasas that wish to be recognized by Department of Education.1 As of 2005, the integration program for private Madrasas had not received any GRP funding according to the firm that was contracted with USAID to train teachers in Mindanao:
The recent DepEd Order No. 51 of 2004 orders a Standard Curriculum for Private Madaris that should incorporate basic education subjects into the daily schedule of private madaris. To date, however, the Standard Curriculum is only a policyÉ The Standard Curriculum, and a broader set of proposed guidelines known as a Roadmap for Upgrading Muslim Basic Education, has not yet received any government funding for implementation.2
It is unclear based on the accord and legislation whether the GRP is expected to fund the textbooks associated with the program: Standard Curriculum for Private Madaris. As of 2005, the funding for the printing of textbooks and teaching guides for the subjects ‘Islamic Values’, ‘Arabic Language,’ and ‘Islamic Studies’ for Grades 1 and 2 came from the World Islamic Call Society of Libya. It was also reported that the textbooks and teaching materials for Grades 3 to 6 were being prepared by a publisher for the years 2005 and 2006, but had not been printed.3
- “Policy Research on Access to Quality Basic Education for Muslim Learners: Final Report,” USAID, 2007, accessed August 27, 2012, http://www.iyfnet.org/sites/default/files/Quality_BasicEd_4_Muslims.pdf.
- “Madrasah Education 2008,” Creative Associates, accessed August 6, 2012, http://www.creativeassociatesinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/0.
- “Policy Research on Access to Quality Basic Education for Muslim Learners: Final Report.”