POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
OPEN UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
Institute of Open and Distance Education
Sta. Mesa, Manila
Ciela Aunica D. Lelis NARRATIVE
Master in Education Management MEM 646 (Dr. Normita Villa)
2nd Sem/A.Y. 2020-2021
A Cross-Cultural Examination and Analysis of Education Issues and Reforms of
Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam
(Private Education Compared with Public Education and Higher Education)
PHILIPPINES
PRIVATE AND PUBLIC EDUCATION
Private and public education in the Philippines follow the same curriculum which is
the K12.
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.
The following are some differences between public and private schools in the
Philippines.
The Department of Education (DepEd) sets overall educational standards and
mandates standardized tests for the K–12 basic education system, although private
schools are generally free to determine their own curriculum in accordance with
existing laws and Department regulations.
Private institutions enjoy the benefit of using independent resources to provide an
effective, engaging, and quality learning environment to their students – which is
something that most public schools cannot do, without needing to involve the
government.
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
OPEN UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
Institute of Open and Distance Education
Sta. Mesa, Manila
Public schools run from June to March while most private schools changed school
year to either July to April or August to May.
Public schools are funded by government while private schools are privately owned,
or owned by corporations or institutions.
Tuition fee is free for public schools while the cost of education in the private ranges
from P20,000 to P250,000.
The teacher-student ratio is usually higher in public schools than in private schools.
For the academic year 2017–2018, about 83% of K–12 students attended public
schools and about 17% either attended private schools or were home-schooled. In
SY 2019-2020, 27.7 million are enrolled in basic education, 23.5 million were in
public and 4.1 were in private schools. For SY 2020-2021 2.1 million are in private
schools while 22.3 million are in public.
HIGHER EDUCATION
The higher education in the Philippines is offered through various degree programs
(commonly known as courses in the Philippines) by a wide selection of colleges and
universities—also known as higher education institutions (HEIs). These are
administered and regulated by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
HEIs are either classified as a college or a university, and either public or private,
and also either secular or religious. As of 2019, records from CHED showed that the
country has 1,963 HEIs (excluding satellite campuses of state universities and
colleges). From this number, 242 are public HEIs, while 1,721 are private institutions.
In the Philippines, college is a tertiary institution that typically offer a number of
specialized courses in the sciences, liberal arts, or in specific professional areas, e.g.
nursing, hotel and restaurant management and information technology. Meanwhile,
to be classified as a university—such as state universities and colleges (SUCs),
CHED-supervised higher education institutions (CHEIs), private higher education
institutions (PHEIs) and community colleges (CCs)—it must meet the following
requirements:[3]
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
OPEN UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
Institute of Open and Distance Education
Sta. Mesa, Manila
- operate at least eight different degree programs; including
- at least six undergraduate courses, specifically
- a four-year course in liberal arts,
- a four-year course in science and mathematics,
- a four-year course in the social sciences, and
- a minimum of three other active and recognized professional courses
leading to government licensures; and
- at least two graduate-level courses leading to doctoral degrees.
Local universities have less stringent requirements than private HEIs. They are only
required to operate at least five undergraduate programs—as opposed to eight for
private universities—and two graduate-level programs.
Local colleges and universities (LCUs), on the other hand, are run by local
government units and established through local ordinance or other enabling acts.
The Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila is first and largest among the LCUs.
Private colleges and universities may either be sectarian or non-sectarian entities.
Institutions may either be not-for-profit or profit-oriented.
Philippine Universities that are usually included in International surveys in terms of
quality are Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, University of the
Philippines (as a system), and University of Santo Tomas.
THAILAND
PRIVATE AND PUBLIC EDUCATION
Academic year in Thailand is from June to March.
Thailand has a large and complex educational system. Basically, the system is a 6-
3-3 one followed by a wide variety of postsecondary options. Public preschools are
under the control of the Ministry of Education or Interior and serves children aged
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
OPEN UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
Institute of Open and Distance Education
Sta. Mesa, Manila
three to five. Private preschools serving the same age group are under the
supervision of the Private Education Commission. Public primary schools
accommodate children from the ages of 6 to 11 and are supervised by the Ministries
of Education, Interior, and local municipalities.
Private primary schools are under the control of the Private Education Commission.
Secondary schools educate children between the ages of 12 to 17 and overseen by
the Ministry of Education and local municipalities in the public sector and by the
Private Education Commission in private schools.
Formal Thai education began as early as the 13th century with the development of
the Thai alphabet.
The first wave of reform emphasized the development of education as a secular
institution.
The second wave of Thai education reform come to fruition among waves of military
rule and political unrest, the reform was sparked by reaction to student activism in
the period. Leading administrators worked to abolish the inequality of the system,
and to bring the curriculum up to date with the most relevant material for Thai
students.
The third wave of reform began in 1997 and came to a close recently in 2010. It has
been the most complex and extensive reform period thus far, and has called for a
number of changes: it guaranteed government-provided education for 12 years.
Education at public schools is free until grade 9.
The government provides, in addition, three years of free pre-school and three years
of free upper-secondary education. The local governments also allocate funds for
public schools.
There is a 1:16 teacher-student ratio in public schools in Thailand. Public schools do
often have decent facilities and follow a standard, government approved curriculum,
catered to students of all types.
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
OPEN UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
Institute of Open and Distance Education
Sta. Mesa, Manila
Some public schools (especially the smaller ones) tend to lag a lot in facilities and
often have the problem of overcrowding in their classes.
The private education sector is expected to be affected by the decline in the
population of the youth. The number of upper-secondary students, for instance,
dropped by more than 9 percent between 2012 and 2016, from 2.14 million to 1.94
million students) and the percentage of enrollments at private education institutions
has already slightly decreased in recent years.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Overall, university admissions have become less competitive in recent years, due to
the dwindling number of students. Thai officials reported that in 2015, for example,
only 105,046 students applied to take entrance exams for 156,216 available
university seats, leaving more than 50,000 places unoccupied. As a result, even top
universities like Thammasat University are currently considering downsizing their
departments and programs. This is a vast difference compared to the shortages and
access limitations of previous decades.
There are a variety of different types of HEIs in Thailand, including multi-disciplinary
research universities, specialized institutions (Buddhist universities, nursing colleges,
or military academies) and community colleges offering short-term programs and
vocational training courses. HEIs are heavily concentrated in Bangkok, where 30
percent of HEIs were located in 2008. Since 2009, there are nine designated
national research universities that receive special funding and support to be
developed into globally competitive universities. These include Chulalongkorn
University, which was established as a university in 1917 and is considered to be the
oldest university in the country.
Other types of public universities include the so-called “Rajabhat Universities”, a
group of institutions that originated as teacher training colleges, but now have
university status and offer a variety of degree courses beyond teacher training,
including doctoral programs in some cases.
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
OPEN UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
Institute of Open and Distance Education
Sta. Mesa, Manila
In addition to fully publicly controlled universities, there are also several so-called
“autonomous universities”. These are self-governing public institutions that began to
appear in the 1990s. Unlike other public universities, which receive funding based on
the number of enrolled students, autonomous universities receive block grants from
the government. Furthermore, the institution’s finances and administration are
overseen by the university council, rather than public officials.
There are 170 institutions of higher education in Thailand, both public and private,
offering 4,100 curricula. For the 2015 academic year, the universities could
accommodate 156,216 new students, but only 105,046 applied to take entrance
exams. Exacerbating the student shortfall, the National Economic and Social
Development Board projects that the number of Thais in the school-age group 0–21
years will fall to 20 percent of the population by 2040, a drop from 62.3 percent in
1980.
Thailand's top three universities are Chulalongkorn University, Mahidol University,
and Thammasat University.
VIETNAM
PRIVATE AND PUBLIC EDUCATION
Education in Vietnam is a state-run system of public and private education run by the
Ministry of Education and Training. It is divided into five levels: preschool, primary
school, secondary school, high school, and higher education. Formal education
consists of twelve years of basic education. Basic education consists of five years of
primary education, four years of secondary education, and three years of high school
education.
Most of the time, primary schools are public since public primary education is free,
but there has been an increase in pupils attending nonpublic schools or universities
the further they get in their education. Unlike other Asian countries, students coming
from “poor” families would rather go to private universities, since they have to offer a
fixed number of scholarships.
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
OPEN UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
Institute of Open and Distance Education
Sta. Mesa, Manila
In general, there are four types of schools, which are divided into “public” and “non-
public.”
Public schools are run by the state, the state invests in the schools and is in charge
of office decisions.
Semi-public schools are set up by the state, but private people and organizations are
motivated to invest in the infrastructure.
People-funded schools are not supported by a state budget. They need permission,
and are set up by social or economic organizations.
Private schools are set up by individuals or groups. They also need to get
permission, and the funders invest in the schools themselves.
In Vietnam, a school year is divided into two semesters: the first begins in mid-
January and lasts until the middle or end of May, while the second begins right after
the first, which is about mid- or late August and ends in December.
Kindergarten is not compulsory. Children normally start primary education at the age
of six. Education at this level lasts for 5 years and is compulsory for all children.
Lower secondary school (Vietnamese: trung học cơ sở) or Junior high school
includes sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth grade and is not compulsory.
High school or upper secondary school education (Vietnamese: trung học phổ thông)
consists of grades ten to twelve. The IGE is a prerequisite entrance examination for
high schooling. The IGE score determines the schools at which students are able to
enroll. The higher the score, the more prestigious the school.
The school year in the Vietnamese state system runs from August or September
through to May or June, although the exact dates vary slightly according to the
specific school preferences. The year is split into two semesters. Usually schools run
Monday to Saturday, with students attending six days a week, but only for half of
each day. This is partly to alleviate crowding, as the school can effectively run a shift
system, with some children attending in the morning, and different students coming
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
OPEN UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
Institute of Open and Distance Education
Sta. Mesa, Manila
for the afternoon. It’s worth noting that this calendar applies to state schools only - in
private and international schools the western standard calendar, with a long summer
break and several weeks’ vacation at Christmas, is far more likely to be adopted.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Vietnam has focused on refining the country’s education system, following the goal
to transition into a more industrialized nation as the country has witnessed a rapidly
growing economy with a relatively young population. The Vietnamese government
has spent about 20 percent of its budget on education in recent years, resulting in an
increase in the overall number of academic staff and institutions, particularly under
the higher education sector.
Vietnamese Government decree (decree 43/2000/ND-CP, dated August 30, 2000)
identified three types of higher education institutions:
"Đại học" (university), which is a multidisciplinary institution offering fields of study
and which has research capacities. Five major multidisciplinary universities in
Vietnam are Vietnam National University, Hanoi; Vietnam National University, Ho Chi
Minh City; Huế University; University of Da Nang; and Can Tho University.
"Trường Đại học" (senior college), which is more narrowly focused in its curriculum,
sometimes on a single study area.
"Học viện" (institute), which is also narrowly focused in terms of study area but which
may have a specialized research capacity.[19]
In addition, there are junior college or community colleges, professional secondary
schools, and vocational schools which offer degrees or certificates.
In the school year 2010–2011, Vietnam had 163 universities (including senior
colleges and institutes) and 223 junior colleges, in which 50 senior colleges and 30
junior colleges are non-public.
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
OPEN UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
Institute of Open and Distance Education
Sta. Mesa, Manila
To date, no Vietnamese universities are ranked in the world’s top 1,000 universities
(based on well-known world university rankings). The regulatory environment is
highly bureaucratic and centralized through the Ministry of Education and Training
(MOET), which has authority over education, including higher education.
MOET decides education policy and implementation expectations that extend to
rules about student admissions as well as what is included in the taught curriculum
and the setting of textbooks. MOET is gradually handing more independence to
higher education institutions. However, progress to date remains rather gradual.
With a gradual increase of academic staff, there has been more spending towards
personnel training as well as funding in research and development. Despite the huge
amount of spending, Vietnam’s higher education still faces some challenges
regarding research and publications, which is an important criterion for choosing a
degree to those in the Asia Pacific region. The number of master’s degree students
and doctoral students is still relatively low in the population although it has increased
in recent years.
The most prestigious universities are Vietnam National University that is located in
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as well as Hue University, University of Da Nang and
Thai Nguyen University.
