School and education is essential for the growth and development of a person. It encourages quality learning all through the life among individuals of all ages, cast, statement of faith, religion and region. It is the way toward achieving knowledge, values, abilities, convictions, and moral habits.
The education as a system, first of all, might be seen as a piece of the all-out social framework. It both reflects and impacts the social and cultural order of which it is a section. The educational system might be seen as subsystem inside social association of its own. It has an arrangement of status and jobs, a group of aptitudes, qualities and customs. Every school and every study hall inside the school shapes an interacting group. Societies with higher rates of degree completion and levels of education tend to be healthier, have higher rates of economic stability, lower crime, and greater equality. Those who get an education have higher incomes, have more opportunities in their lives, and will in general be healthier. Social orders advantage too. Societies with high rates of education completion have lower crime, better in general well-being, and community contribution.
Education is a continuous ‘process’. Education of human being begins at birth and it ends with his death. He leans throughout his life. There is no end to it. Education is much more than schooling. The child goes on reconstructing his experiences throughout the whole life. Instruction ends in the classroom, but education ends only with life, and the educational system is expected to provide opportunity for social and economic mobility by selecting and training the most able and industrious youth for higher-status position in society. The educational system places those with the greater abilities and training in higher positions and those with the lesser abilities and training in lower ones. Thus, education tends to generate vertical social mobility by increasing their earning power and by preparing them for higher-status occupation than that of their parents. Skills and values learned in education are directly related to the way to which the economy and the occupational structure operate. Education trains the individuals in skills that are required by the economy. In modern planned economy the output of skilled people must be consciously geared to the economic and social priorities of the society. That explains the vital role of education in social development.
Have you at any point wondered why various nations and societies have different education systems yet we as a whole simply need to learn and achieve knowledge?
Education in the Philippines is provided by public and private schools, colleges, universities, and technical and vocational institutions in the country. By law, education is compulsory for thirteen years (kindergarten and grades 1–12) and is grouped into three levels: elementary school (kindergarten–grade 6), junior high school (grades 7–10), and senior high school (grades 11–12). They may also be grouped into four key stages: 1st key stage (kindergarten–grade 3), 2nd key stage (grades 4–6), 3rd key stage (grades 7–10) and 4th key stage (grades 11–12). Children usually enter kindergarten at age 5. Institutions of higher education may be classified as either public or private college or university, and public institutions of higher education may further be subdivided into two types: state universities and colleges and local colleges and universities.
Before K to 12, the Philippines had been one of only three remaining countries in the world–the other two being Djibouti and Angola–to have a 10-year basic education cycle. Most countries across the globe operate on a 12-year basic education cycle. In 2010, the new administration identified education reform at the very top of its priorities, and pushed for this reform through the Enhanced Basic Education Program, or K to 12. I was then part of the 10-year basic education cycle that’s why I finished high school at the age of 16 and I finished college at the age of 20. I think it’s great to be a part of the 10-year basic education cycle at least I wouldn’t have to deal with the expenses of the additional 2 years of K-12.
Meanwhile education in the United States is provided in public, private, and home schools. State governments set overall educational standards, often mandate standardized tests for K–12 public school systems and supervise, usually through a board of regents, state colleges, and universities.
There’s not much of a difference in US and Philippine education system so how do American students react to the education system in Philippines? Some American students, most especially in college find the Philippine education system difficult.
In the Philippine system, we concentrate each and every moment for us to pass, we are relied upon to take a test each and every day and present a few assignments. The pressure is real when I was in college. We should finish all the assignments, quiz and exams, and before the end of the semester, our combined score should meet the passing rate of 75%. The passing rate relies upon the course; a few courses are 80% or 90%. What’s more, this implies for us to get that passing score, we should buckle down by going to practically all the lectures, presenting all the fundamental assignments, writing all the quiz and passing the preliminary, midterm and final exams in that semester before moving over to the next. In the US, the passing scores are at 60% or 65% maybe. Some people might really find it difficult, but I think some people are just not used to having tough challenges in terms of academics. It actually depends on a student if they will take it seriously and work hard for their grades either to aim for a high grade or just pass it.
I also heard a story from my friend that her cousin who had moved from the Philippines to the US, said that it was harder studying in the Philippines than in the US. She’s still in high-school and she said that the lessons that they are tackling now have already been tackled here in the Philippines 3 years ago, she was in 7th grade back then when she moved to the US which means that we have already tackled those lessons back in 4th grade here in the Philippines. She said she could barely get into the top 10 of our class, but in the US she’s at the top of her class without much effort. I suddenly thought about the current stereotype of Asians living in the US is that they are smart, competent and hard-working. I think one of the reasons behind it is that our parents expects us to study well that’s why we do our best not to disappoint them.
In the US there is a lot of freedom in your academic life. In the Philippines it is very rigid. It is difficult to be a working student in the Philippines since classes begins at 7:30 and end at 5 pm and students are loaded with assignments to be presented the following day, which makes it difficult to do whatever else however study. While an American student can be on the campus for less than 30 hours a week and still have a job for 20 hours a week. I myself did not become a working student, I only took jobs during summer but not while I’m studying. I think this is because we pursue to take a full load class during college, and lot of students here in the Philippines do that and it’s important for us to pass all our subjects. While in the US a 20 unit per semester might be too much for them. Another distinction is that, even if we’re already in college we, despite everything, have our parents’ full support, morally and financially. That is one reason why we are not obliged to work while we are studying, so we have no reasons to fail our classes. Obviously it’s not the situation for each Filipino, there are likewise a ton of students who work while studying in light of the fact that they can’t manage the cost of the education and simultaneously they also pay for their basic living expenses.
Education is cheaper in Philippines compared to US. An average fee at US universities per year is $12,320 for a Public two-year colleges and $48,510 for a Private non-profit four-year colleges. I think these amounts are very expensive for a student, which is why America is suffering from a student-loan debt crisis. While wages have increased by 67% since 1970, according to a 2018 Student Loan Hero report, college tuition has increased at an even faster rate. Consequently, student debt has reached record levels. It’s part of the Great American Affordability Crisis.
In Philippines, State Universities will only cost around 2,000php – 50,000php ($39.36 – $983.98), there are also colleges that offers free tuition fee. The free tuition law signed last March 2018 covers a total of 112 state universities and colleges, and 78 local universities and colleges nationwide. The Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which the Congress ratified in May 2018 and transmitted to the Office of the President on July 2018, gives full tuition subsidy for students in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), local universities and colleges, and state-run technical-vocational schools.
The average tuition fee in private colleges and universities is P145,000 ($2853.56) a year. With this amount of money you can go to well-known and prestigious schools here in the Philippines. De La Salle University (DLSU) is a Catholic co-educational institution, DLSU is a hub for higher education training renowned for academic excellence, prolific relevant research, and involved community service. It is home to local and international students seeking quality education for a brighter future ahead. Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) Ateneo proudly offers programs in the fields of arts, humanities, business, law, social sciences, philosophy, theology, medicine and public health, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, engineering, environmental science, diplomacy, and government. They are also known for their post-graduate courses in business and public management, their law school and their new medical school. University of Santo Tomas (UST) One of Asia’s oldest existing universities, UST has always played a prominent and prestigious part in Philippine education. Not only does this institution boast of several firsts when it come to the realms of education, it also has administrators and faculty members who are holding leadership positions in the Philippines’ policy-making bodies and professional organizations, helping influence policies for the betterment of the society in general. I would also like to include here the University of the Philippines (UP), the country’s national university is a premier institution of higher learning composed of eight constituent universities and one autonomous college. These are spread throughout 17 campuses in the archipelago. Tuition fee is cheap in UP it ranges from P3,800 to P55,000 ($74.78 – $1083.73).
But then these schools can never be compared to the Ivy League schools in the US like Brown University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College and Harvard University. The Philippines is historically a Third World country and currently a developing country so we may still lack in funds, facilities and have poor research standards. We have a lot of room for improvement in terms of education system.
I think Americans studying here in the Philippines is not a bad idea. We may be a developing country but we do offer a high quality education, if they ever find it difficult, they should keep in mind that this is the challenge. Some Filipinos can be quiet competitive in terms of academics and this is a good thing as long as it doesn’t become toxic. There are pros and cons here but then, the system is not perfect, it still depends on the student as to how they will handle their studies. But then, it is not just all about academics and having a diploma, education gives us a knowledge of the world around us and changes it into something better. It develops in us a perspective of looking at life. It helps us build opinions and have points of view on things in life. It molds us into the person that we are right now and who are we going to be in the future.
Sources:
https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/benefits-of-education-are-societal-and-personal/
https://www.news24.com/MyNews24/importance-of-education-20161004
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_Philippines#Formal_education
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_United_States
https://www.ecomparemo.com/info/cost-of-colleges-and-universities-in-the-philippines/
https://business.inquirer.net/274159/making-cost-of-college-education-more-affordable
https://www.ecomparemo.com/info/cost-of-colleges-and-universities-in-the-philippines/
https://www.businessinsider.com/student-loan-debt-crisis-college-cost-mind-blowing-facts-2019-7