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Philippines - Nonformal Education

The mission of Nonformal Education (NFE) in the Philippines is to empower the Filipino with

"desirable knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that will enable him/her to think critically and

creatively, act innovatively and humanely in improving the quality of his/her life and that ofhis/her family, community and country." NFE aims to reduce the number of illiterate out-of-school youth and adults with need-based literacy programs, plus continue education through

basic development projects. Activities that fall under this system of education range fromvocational training to adult reading classes, from family planning sessions to cultural and

leadership workshops for community leaders.

This branch of education is governed by the DECS Bureau of NonformalEducation(BNFE) andits history can be traced as far back as 1908 when ACT No. 1829 was created to provide for the

delivery of civicoeducational lectures in towns and barrios. Six years later the act was amendedto assign teachers in public schools to give the lectures. The New Commonwealth government

passed Act No. 80 in 1936 to create the Office of Adult Education as part of the then Departmentof Instruction. A decade later, this branch was transformed into the Adult and Community

Education Division of the Bureau of Public Schools. After the declaration of Martial Law, theMarcos government's Philippine Constitution of 1973 created the position of the Undersecretary

of Nonformal Education.

The Education Act of 1982 created the Bureau of Continuing Education from the Office of

Nonformal Education. The Aquino government after the People Power Revolution, enactedExecutive Order No. 117 in 1987 to create the Bureau of Nonformal Education. Article 14,

section 2(4) of the 1987 Philippine Constitution stated: "The state shall encourage nonformal,formal, indigenous learning systems, as well as self-learning, independent and out-of-school

study programs, particularly those that respond to community needs; and provide adult citizens,the disabled and out-of school youth training in civics, vocational efficiency and other skills."

Nonformal education, in this sense, is designed to extend, complement, and provide analternative to the existing educational system. Human development thus becomes an important

factor in alleviating poverty.

The National Statistics Office of the Philippines reported that in 1989, there were 3,000,000school youths between the ages of 7 to 24. This increased to 3,800,000 by 1994. The highest

percentage of these youths was from the Western Mindanao region. Out-of-school womenoutnumbered the men by 6.7 percent. On October 16, 1990, Proclamation No. 480 declared the

period from 1990 to 1999 as the Decade of Education for All, with the goal of meeting theeducational needs of the poor and under educated.

BNFE is divided into three divisions: the Literacy Division (LD), the Continuing EducationDivision (CED), and the Staff Development Division (SDD). The bureau outlines its functions

as: serving the needs of those unable to avail of formal education; expanding access toeducational opportunities; and providing opportunities for the acquisition of skills to ensure

employability, efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness in the labor market. BNFE fundscome from three main sources which are: the General Appropriations Act, loans from the Asian

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Development Bank, and funds from other international agencies such as UNESCO, UNICEF,ACCU, and elsewhere.

In 1995, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) was established to

help regulate non-degree technical-vocational programs. TESDA was also in charge of skill

orientation, training, and development of out-of-school youth and unemployed communityadults.