AN ACT INSTITUTING A FRAMEWORK OF GOVERNANCE FOR BASIC EDUCATION

Case Overview and Summary

Summary of the Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001

Declaration of Policy (Section 2):
- Protect and promote the right to quality basic education for all citizens.
- Provide free and compulsory elementary education and free high school education.
- Include alternative learning systems for out-of-school youth and adult learners.
- Equip learners with skills, knowledge, and values to become caring, self-reliant, productive, and patriotic citizens.
- Schools are the heart of the formal education system, aiming to provide the best basic education.
- Governance of basic education starts at the national level and is implemented at regional, division, school, and learning center levels.
- Encourage local initiatives for improving the quality of basic education.
- Empower schools and learning centers to make decisions for their learners.

Purposes and Objectives (Section 3):
- Provide a framework for the governance of basic education, setting directions for policies, standards, authority, accountability, and responsibility.
- Define roles and responsibilities of field offices in implementing educational programs, projects, and services.
- Make schools and learning centers vehicles for teaching national values and developing love of country and pride in heritage.
- Ensure focused attention on schools and learning centers, considering community interests.
- Enable schools and learning centers to reflect community values by allowing flexibility to serve learners' needs.
- Encourage local initiatives for school and learning center improvement.
- Establish schools and learning centers as facilities for core competencies and alternative learning programs.

Definition of Terms (Section 4):
- Defines terms such as alternative learning system, basic education, cluster of schools, formal education, informal education, integrated school, learner, learning center, learning facilitator, non-formal education, quality education, school, and school head.

Principles of Shared Governance (Section 5):
- Recognizes the roles, tasks, and responsibilities of each unit in the education bureaucracy.
- Observes democratic consultation in decision-making processes.
- Operationalizes the principles of accountability and transparency.
- Strengthens communication channels of field offices for effective governance.

Governance (Section 6):
- Renames the Department of Education, Culture and Sports as the Department of Education.
- Vests authority, accountability, and responsibility for basic education in the Department of Education.

Powers, Duties, and Functions (Section 7):
A. National Level:
- The Secretary of Education has overall authority and supervision over the Department's operations.
- Formulates national educational policies, plans, and standards.
- Monitors and assesses national learning outcomes.
- Undertakes national educational research and studies.
- Enhances the employment status, competence, welfare, and working conditions of personnel.
- Enhances the total development of learners through local and national programs/projects.
- Assisted by not more than four undersecretaries and four assistant secretaries.

B. Regional Level:
- Regional offices have a director, assistant director, and staff for program promotion, planning, administrative, and fiscal services.
- Regional directors have authority, accountability, and responsibility for:
- Defining a regional educational policy framework (Section 7.B.1).
- Developing a regional basic education plan (Section 7.B.2).
- Developing regional educational standards (Section 7.B.3).
- Monitoring, evaluating, and assessing regional learning outcomes (Section 7.B.4).
- Undertaking research projects and managing region-wide projects funded by official development assistance or other agencies (Section 7.B.5).
- Ensuring compliance with national criteria for recruitment, selection, and training of staff (Section 7.B.6).
- Formulating the budget to support the regional educational plan, in coordination with the regional development council (Section 7.B.7).
- Determining the organization component of divisions and districts and approving their staffing patterns (Section 7.B.8).
- Hiring, placing, and evaluating all employees in the regional office, except for the assistant director (Section 7.B.9).
- Evaluating all schools division superintendents and assistant division superintendents (Section 7.B.10).
- Planning and managing the effective and efficient use of personnel, physical, and fiscal resources, including professional staff development (Section 7.B.11).
- Managing the database and management information system of the region (Section 7.B.12).
- Approving the establishment of public and private elementary, high schools, and learning centers (Section 7.B.13).
- Performing other assigned functions (Section 7.B.14).

C. Division Level:
- A division consists of a province or city with a schools division superintendent, at least one assistant superintendent, and staff for program promotion, planning, administrative, fiscal, legal, ancillary, and other support services.
- Schools division superintendents have authority, accountability, and responsibility for:
- Developing and implementing division education development plans (Section 7.C.1).
- Planning and managing the effective and efficient use of personnel, physical, and fiscal resources, including professional staff development (Section 7.C.2).
- Hiring, placing, and evaluating all division supervisors, schools district supervisors, and all employees, including school heads, except for the assistant division superintendent (Section 7.C.3).
- Monitoring the utilization of funds provided by the national government and local government units to schools and learning centers (Section 7.C.4).
- Ensuring compliance with quality standards for basic education programs and strengthening the role of division supervisors as subject area specialists (Section 7.C.5).
- Promoting awareness and adherence to accreditation standards prescribed by the Secretary of Education (Section 7.C.6).
- Supervising the operations of all public and private elementary, secondary, integrated schools, and learning centers (Section 7.C.7).
- Performing other assigned functions (Section 7.C.8).

D. Schools District Level:
- Upon the recommendation of schools division superintendents, the regional director may establish additional schools districts within a division.
- A schools district has a schools district supervisor and staff for program promotion.
- The schools district supervisor is responsible for:
- Providing professional and instructional advice and support to school heads and teachers/facilitators (Section 7.D.1).
- Curricula supervision (Section 7.D.2).
- Performing other assigned functions (Section 7.D.3).

E. School Level:
- There is a school head for all public elementary schools, public high schools, or a cluster thereof.
- The establishment of integrated schools from existing public elementary and high schools is encouraged.
- The school head is an instructional leader and administrative manager, assisted by an assistant school head if needed.
- The school head forms a team with teachers/learning facilitators for delivering quality educational programs, projects, and services.
- Non-teaching staff handle administrative, fiscal, and auxiliary services.
- School heads have authority, accountability, and responsibility for:
- Setting the mission, vision, goals, and objectives of the school (Section 7.E.1).
- Creating a conducive environment for teaching and learning (Section 7.E.2).
- Implementing the school curriculum and being accountable for higher learning outcomes (Section 7.E.3).
- Developing the school education program and school improvement plan (Section 7.E.4).
- Offering equitable educational programs, projects, and services for all learners (Section 7.E.5).
- Introducing new and innovative modes of instruction to achieve higher learning outcomes (Section 7.E.6).
- Administering and managing all personnel, physical, and fiscal resources of the school (Section 7.E.7).
- Recommending the staffing complement based on the school's needs (Section 7.E.8).
- Encouraging staff development (Section 7.E.9).
- Establishing school and community networks and encouraging active participation of teachers' organizations, non-academic personnel, and parents-teachers-community associations (Section 7.E.10).
- Accepting donations, gifts, bequests, and grants for upgrading competencies, improving facilities, and providing instructional materials and equipment (Section 7.E.11).
- Performing other assigned functions (Section 7.E.12).

- A promotions board at appropriate levels formulates and implements a promotion system for schools decision supervisors, schools district supervisors, and school heads, based on qualifications, merit, and performance.
- Qualifications, salary grade, employment status, welfare, and benefits of school heads are the same for public elementary, secondary, and integrated schools.
- Appointments to positions of regional directors, assistant regional directors, schools division superintendents, and assistant schools division superintendents require being a career executive service officer, preferably risen from the ranks.

Transfer of Cultural Agencies (Section 8):
- The Komisyon ng Wikang Pilipino, National Historical Institute, Records Management and Archives Office, and National Library are administratively attached to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and no longer with the Department of Education.
- The program for school arts and culture remains part of the school curriculum.

Abolition of the Bureau of Physical Education and School Sports (Section 9):
- Functions, programs, and activities of the Department of Education related to sports competition are transferred to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
- The program for school sports and physical fitness remains part of the basic education curriculum.
- The Bureau of Physical Education and School Sports (BPESS) is abolished.
- BPESS personnel detailed with the PSC are transferred to the PSC without loss of rank or positions.
- Other BPESS personnel are retained by the Department of Education.

Support and Assistance of Other Government Agencies (Sections 10-12):
- The Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Budget and Management jointly promulgate guidelines on the allocation, distribution, and utilization of resources for field offices within 90 days, considering the uniqueness of the teaching service (Section 10).
- The Secretary of Education ensures adequate resources for field offices and direct allocation and release of resources for school personnel, desks, textbooks, and instructional materials (Section 10).
- The Secretary of Education issues personnel policy rules and regulations that meet the requirements of the teaching profession, considering its working conditions (Section 11).
- The Commission on Audit issues audit rules and regulations for resource utilization, liquidation, recording, and reporting, considering the characteristics, features, and operations of field offices, schools, and learning centers (Section 12).

Governance in the ARMM (Section 13):
- The Regional Education Secretary for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) exercises similar governance authority over divisions, districts, schools, and learning centers in the region as provided in the Organic Act, without prejudice to the provisions of Republic Act No. 9054.

Rules and Regulations (Section 14):
- The Secretary of Education promulgates the implementing rules and regulations within 90 days after the approval of this Act.
- The Secretary of Education fully implements the principle of shared governance within two years after the approval of this Act.

Separability Clause (Section 15):
- If any portion or provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional, other parts or provisions not affected remain in full force and effect.

Repealing Clause (Section 16):
- All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are repealed or modified accordingly.

Effectivity Clause (Section 17):
- This Act takes effect 15 days following its publication in at least two newspapers of general circulation.