Vision, Mission, Core Values, and Mandate

The DepEd Vision

We dream of Filipinos
who passionately love their country
and whose values and competencies
enable them to realize their full potential
and contribute meaningfully to building the nation.

As a learner-centered public institution,

the Department of Education
continuously improves itself
to better serve its stakeholders.

The DepEd Mission

To protect and promote the right of every Filipino to quality, equitable, culture-based, and complete basic education
where:

Students learn in a child-friendly, gender-sensitive, safe, and motivating environment.

Teachers facilitate learning and constantly nurture every learner.
Administrators and staff, as stewards of the institution, ensure an enabling and supportive environment for
effective learning to happen.
Family, community, and other stakeholders are actively engaged and share responsibility for developing life-
long learners.

Our Core Values

Maka-Diyos
Maka-tao
Makakalikasan
Makabansa

Our Mandate
The Department of Education was established through the Education Decree of 1863 as the Superior Commission of
Primary Instruction under a Chairman. The Education agency underwent many reorganization efforts in the 20th
century in order to better define its purpose vis a vis the changing administrations and charters. The present day
Department of Education was eventually mandated through Republic Act 9155, otherwise known as the Governance
of Basic Education act of 2001 which establishes the mandate of this agency.

The Department of Education (DepEd) formulates, implements, and coordinates policies, plans, programs and
projects in the areas of formal and non-formal basic education. It supervises all elementary and secondary
education institutions, including alternative learning systems, both public and private; and provides for the
 establishment and maintenance of a complete, adequate, and integrated system of basic education relevant to the
goals of national development.

The Department of Education (abbreviated as DepEd; Filipino: Kagawaran ng Edukasyon) is the executive
department of the Philippine government responsible for ensuring access to, promoting equity in, and improving the
quality of basic education.[2] It is the main agency tasked to manage and govern the Philippine system of basic
education. It is the chief formulator of Philippine education policy and responsible for the Philippine primary and
secondary school systems. It has its headquarters at the DepEd Complex in Meralco Avenue, Pasig City.
The department is currently led by the Secretary of Education, nominated by the President of the Philippines and
confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet. The current Secretary of
Education is Leonor Briones. Presently, its mission is to provide quality basic education that is equitably accessible
to all and lay the foundation for lifelong learning and service for the common good. It has changed its vision
statement, removing a phrase that some groups deem to be "too sectarian" for a government institution.[3]

Contents
[hide]

 1History
 2List of Secretaries of Education
 3Organizational structure
o 3.1Bureaus and services
 4Attached agencies
 5References

History[edit]
During the early Spanish period, education in the Philippines was religion-oriented and was primarily for the elite,
especially in the first years of Spanish colonization. Access to education by Filipinos was later liberalized through
the enactment of the Educational Decree of 1863, which provided for the establishment of at least one primary
school for boys and girls in each town under the responsibility of the municipal government, and the establishment
of a normal school for male teachers under the supervision of the Jesuits. Primary instruction was secularized and
free, and the teaching of Spanish was compulsory. It was also through this decree that the 'Superior Commission of
Primary Instruction' was established, the seminal agency of the Department of Education.[4]
The defeat of Spain by United States forces in 1898 paved the way for Aguinaldo's Republic under a Revolutionary
Government. The schools maintained by Spain for more than three centuries were closed temporarily but were
reopened on August 29, 1898 by the Secretary of the Interior. A system of free and compulsory elementary
education was established by the Malolos Constitution, under Article 23. However, this first sovereign education
system was interrupted in 1899 with the start of the Philippine–American War, and was finally dismantled.
A secularized and free public school system during the first decade of American rule was established upon the
recommendation of the Schurman Commission in 1900. Free primary instruction that trained the people for the
duties of citizenship was enforced by the Taft Commission as per instructions of US President William McKinley.
Chaplains and non-commissioned officers were assigned to teach using English as the medium of instruction.[4]
A highly centralized public school system was instituted in January 1901 by the Taft Commission, by virtue of Act
No. 74. This act also established the Department of Public Instruction, headed by a General Superintendent. The
implementation of this Act created a heavy shortage of teachers so the Philippine Commission authorized the
Superintendent of Public Instruction to bring 1,000 teachers from the United States to the Philippines. They would
later be popularly known as the Thomasites.
In 1908, the Philippine Legislature approved Act No. 1870, creating the University of the Philippines.
The Organic Act of 1916 reorganized the Department of Public Instruction, mandating that it be headed by a
Secretary. This act also mandated the Filpinization of department secretaries, except that of the Secretary of Public
Instruction.
During World War II, the department was reorganized once again through the Japanese's Military Order No. 2 in
February 1942, splitting the department into the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Public
Instruction. Under the Japanese, the teaching of Tagalog, Philippine history, and character education was given
priority. Love for work and the dignity of labor were also emphasized.
In October 1944, months after Pres. Manuel L. Quezon's death, the department was renamed as the Department
of Public Instruction and Information, with Carlos P. Romulo at the helm. Upon the return and resumption of
the Commonwealth Government in February 1945, its name was changed to the Department of Instruction.
In 1947, by virtue of Executive Order No. 94 by Pres. Manuel Roxas,[5] the department was reorganized to
the Department of Education. During this period, the regulation and supervision of public and private schools
belonged to the Bureau of Public and Private Schools.
Upon the start of Martial Law in September 1972, it became the Department of Education and Culture and
subsequently reorganized into the Ministry of Education and Culturein June 1978 by virtue of Presidential Decree
No. 1397,[6] due to the shift to a parliamentary system of government. Thirteen regional offices were created and
major organizational changes were implemented in the educational system.
The Education Act of 1982[7] created the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, which became
the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) in 1987 via Executive Order No. 117[8] by
President Corazon C. Aquino.
The structure of DECS as embodied in EO 117 has practically remained unchanged until 1994, when
the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) was established, and in August 25, 1994, when the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) was established to supervise tertiary degree programs and
non-degree technical-vocational programs, respectively. The trifocal education system refocused the department's
mandate to basic education which covers elementary, secondary and non-formal education, including culture and
sports. CHED is responsible for tertiary education, while TESDA now administers the post-secondary, middle-level
manpower training and development.[4]
In August 2001, the Governance of Basic Education Act[2] was passed, renaming the DECS to the Department of
Education (DepEd) and redefining the role of field offices, which include regional offices, division offices, district
offices, and schools.
The Act removed the administration of cultural and sports activities from the department. The National Historical
Institute, Records Management and Archives Office, and the National Library are now administratively attached to
the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). All previous functions, programs, and activities related to
sports competition were transferred to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). In addition, the Bureau of Physical
Education and School Sports was abolished.

List of Secretaries of Education[edit]

Main article: Secretary of Education (Philippines)

Organizational structure[edit]
At present, the Department is headed by the Secretary of Education, with the following undersecretaries and
assistant secretaries:

 Undersecretary for Accounting

 Undersecretary for Administration
 Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction
 Undersecretary for Legal Affairs
 Undersecretary for Finance
 Undersecretary for Planning and Field Operations
 Assistant Secretary/Chief of Staff
 Assistant Secretary for Procurement
 Assistant Secretary for Liaison and Partnerships
 Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Alternative Learning System
Under the Office of the Secretary are the following offices and services:

 Teacher Education Council

 Literacy Coordinating Council
 Internal Audit Service
A director is assigned to each of the 17 regions of the Philippines; the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is
governed by a regional secretary. A division superintendent is assigned to each of the school divisions defined by
the department.

Bureaus and services[edit]

DepEd is composed of 17 bureaus and services:[9]

 Administrative Service (AS)

 Bureau of Curriculum Development (BCD)
 Bureau of Education Assessment (BEA)
 Bureau of Human Resources and Organizational Development (BHROD)
 Bureau of Learning Delivery (BLD)
 Bureau of Learning Resources (BLR)
 Bureau of Learner Support Service (BLSS)
 Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DRRMS)
 External Partnerships Service (EPS)
 Finance Service (FS)
 Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS)
 Legal Service (LS)
 National Educators' Academy of the Philippines (NEAP)
 Planning Service (PS)
 Procurement Service (PROCS)
 Project Management Service (PMS)
 Public Affairs Service (PAS)

Attached agencies[edit]
The following agencies, councils and schools are attached to DepEd for policy and program coordination:

 Department of Education in the ARMM (DepEd ARMM)

 Instructional Materials Council (IMC)
 National Book Development Board (NBDB)
 National Council for Children's Television (NCCT)
 National Museum of the Philippines
 National Science Teaching Instrumentation Center (NSTIC)
 Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA)
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is now attached to the Office of the President, while the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is now attached to the Department of Labor and Employment.