Centennial of Public Instruction Act - ROSES AND THORNS by Alejandro R. Roces

Yesterday, the Department of Education, Culture and Sports and the Commission on Higher Education commemorated the centennial for the establishment of Act No. 74 of the Philippine Commission, the law that gave birth to what was then the Bureau of Education. Without detracting the spirit of this noteworthy celebration, we just wish to point out that on July 1, 1580, Fr. Plasencia of the Franciscan order launched the move of extending the teachings of the church in the Philippines from just religious instruction to what is now known as the Three R’s, plus teaching them a trade to earn a decent living.

It is a myth that public schools in the Philippines started with the American Regime. Public schools already existed under the Spanish Regime. True that they were just concentrated in highly urbanized areas. But that was because public schools were really an offshoot of the industrial revolution. The main lessons they taught were: first, to go by the clock and not the sun; second, to be under an authority, which, in schools, was the teacher; third, to do certain tasks at certain times. It is a fact that the Department of Education as we know it today is a product of Act No. 74 which was passed in July 2, 1901.

When it comes to education, the Philippines was very fortunate. The University of Santo Tomas, for instance, is not only the oldest university in Asia, it is also older than Harvard University in the United States. Today, very few people are aware of the fact that by the end of the Spanish period, the literacy rate in the Philippines was even higher than the literacy rate of the Mother Country Spain! It was because of this education that the Philippines was, since the Spanish period, the second most economically-advanced country in Asia, next only to Japan.

During the American period, the stress was also on education. Act No. 74 is the reason why you are reading this article in English and why the Philippines is now the second largest English-speaking nation in the world, next only to the United States.

It was during the dictatorial regime of Ferdinand Marcos that the Philippines degenerated to the second poorest country in Asia after Bangladesh. The emphasis shifted from education to the military.

The message is clear. Next to freedom and justice is public education. Without education, freedom and justice cannot survive. Today, we are waging a war on poverty. That in essence is a war against ignorance. And that is what was behind Fr. Plasencia’s message 421 years ago, when he knew that the teaching of religion was an exercise in futility if you taught people who were illiterate and did not even have the means of earning a decent living.

The message of the centuries is clear. The true answer to our problems is education. We hope our so-called leaders realize this fact.